Biodiverse Environmental was engaged to conduct BioCondition surveys at the sites of two proposed drill locations at Westgrove, approximately 150km north of Roma. The surveys were conducted to assess whether the proposed works at each site would be compliant under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Ecological field surveys were conducted, and results showed that Site 1 contained remnant vegetation, while Site 2 contained predominantly non-remnant vegetation. However, Site 2 also contained ecosystem types listed as “Of Concern” under the Vegetation Management Act 1999.
Two survey plots were placed at each Site to ensure features and vegetation communities representative of the entire Sites were captured.
Several different attributes were assessed at each survey plot and each attribute was given a score based on benchmark BioCondition values. An overall survey plot and Site score was then calculated to compare the current condition of each Site. These scores ranged from 1 for ‘functional’ biodiversity condition to 4 for ‘dysfunctional’ biodiversity condition
BioCondition survey results were then assessed against MNES (Matters of National Environmental Significance), MSES (Matters of State Environmental Significance) and environmentally sensitive areas were mapped to determine the suitability of each proposed drilling location.
While each Site displayed characteristics of healthy ecosystems, Site 2’s average BioCondition score was calculated as more dysfunctional than Site 1’s score.
Site 2 had greater levels of disturbance and was more vulnerable to external influences, making it less able to return to a fully functional system when compared to Site 1. The impact of works was expected to be less significant at Site 2, due to this site already being more vulnerable to external influences. It was therefore recommended that Site 2 was selected for proposed drilling works.
