Calls For New Nature Reserves As Part Of Hunter Transmission Project

BY CHARLIE PROUDLOCK

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is calling on the state government to re-think the Hunter Transmission Project.

The major initiative is set to incur a sweep of deforestation across a large portion of the Hunter's bushland, with the Conservation Council asking for additional nature reserves to offset it's predicted impact. 

It follows submissions from fellow environmental groups slamming the planned deforestation which will take place during to the project's construction, including at Olney, Watagan and Pokolbin state forests. 

In an effort to combat the impacts, the Conservation Council has released a report identifying 11 new strategic reserves to be added in conjunction with the major project, set to strengthen ecological connectivity across the region.

The listed reserves include 700 hectares of former BHP land at West Wallsend, 580 hectares adjacent to Newcastle Link Road, and about 3,000 hectares of land in the Hunter Economic Zone at Tomalpin. 

The Conservation Council's Policy and Advocacy Director Brad Smith said their main goal is to stop the decline in some of the State's most critically endangered species.

"The [Hunter Transmission] Project itself is about 100 kilometres long and the area it will disturb is about 1,000 hectares," he said.

"Of the 1,000 hectares, around 200 is endangered bushland.

"We're saying to just give those State forests back to National Parks.

"At the moment, they're being logged, and by removing the logging threat from those State forests, it would have a great impact for nature in the region."

Mr Smith went further to call on Newcastle Council to back them in their push for renewed ecological health in the region.

"We hope everyone would be on our side, because this is a good outcome for nature," he said.

"We know we need to get ahead with this transmission line and bring the solar, wind power to the businesses and home who need it, but we don't want to see nature sidelined in the process.

"This is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really take hold of some of these beautiful natural areas in the Hunter and protect them for everyone into the future."

Currently, project refinements are continuing to be made following field surveys, agency consultation and community feedback.

Picture: NSW Government. 

Citizen scientists call for temperature research after Mannering Park fish kill

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Citizen scientists are calling for more research into thermal pollution in the wake of a mass fish kill at Mannering Park in August.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) concluded earlier this week, the mass death was sparked when winds and cooler weather met the warmer water temperatures cause by the discharge of Vales Point Power Station, overturning the water column.

The Hunter Community Environment Centre (HCEC) agrees with the EPA's verdict, but argues it's a sign more research into the issue is needed.

Senior Researcher Paul Winn says it's already having an impact. 

"That thermal pollution is already known to have caused the almost total loss of seagrass in Wyee Bay, and the EPA reacted to that loss, and reduced its thermal pollution," he said.

"But what we're mostly concerned about is the impact on the broader ecosystem - the impact on the fishing, on the fish species, and the species mix that we're going to get."

It's likely a number of tropical species attracted by or adapted to the warmer water in the bay were also shocked by the event. 

Chemical pollution and toxicity levels were normal, though nitrogen and phosphorus testing indicated the sediment had been disturbed, likely when the water column was overturned.

The EPA says it has deployed a smart buoy at Wyee Point to monitor the lake, but the HCEC is pushing for a full study.

"When these power stations were built, they were built just to make power," Mr Winn said. "They didn't really care whether they were going to have an impact or not."

"Now I think people have moved since then, and we expect a lot more from our industries and we expect more from our regulators. We want to make sure these industrial plants are going to be able to continue to be operated, up until their closure date, in a safe manner."

Vales Point Power Station is due to close its doors in 2029, though Delta Electricity has indicated in the past it would seek to extend its lifespan.

Mr Winn says simply closing the station won't resolve the issue, however.

"At some stage this power station is going to close," he said. "And the concerns that we have for this closure is that this thermal pollution, these ecosystems have adapted to to some degree over the years, with the introduction of eagle rays and green turtles."

"If that thermal pollution is turned off when the power station closes, we're likely to see a much larger and broader fish kill, because those warmer adapted species aren't going to be able to survive any more."

"We need to reduce that thermal pollution over some period of time, to allow those species and those ecosystems to adapt, and that's currently not being contemplated by either the EPA or the power station."

Image credit: Hunter Community Environment Centre.