My Blog

Controversial development & the threatened Wallum Froglets- Long term repercussions

01/06/2014 14:25:00

In a long running dispute lasting over a decade, a developer has been ordered to pay Tweed council $600,000 (Tweed Daily News). The developer who had been awarded hefty compensation over drain works that encouraged a family of the threatened Wallum Froglets to move onto a block of land at Kingscliff, has been ordered to pay back more than $600,000 to Tweed Shire Council.

The Wallum Froglets (Crinia tinnula) is listed as a vulnerable species under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). The Wallum Froglet is restricted to relatively well vegetated and undisturbed acid paperbark swamps and sedge swamps in the coastal Wallum country between southern Queensland and the central coast of NSW (Cogger 2000, Robinson 1998). The Wallum Froglet is at threat form the following:

• Destruction and degradation of coastal wetlands as a result of roadworks, coastal developments and sand-mining;

• Reduction of water quality and changes to acidity in coastal wetlands; and

• Grazing and associated frequent burning of coastal wetlands.

Wallum Froglets are small frogs, no more than 30 mm long. They are extremely variable in colour and pattern, from light grey or brown to dark grey above and usually white or light brown below (sparsely flecked with darker patches). Click here for more info on this species.

This long running dispute has costed the community (including Council and the developer) considerable resources and it is dubious whether such dispute has resulted in any positive outcomes for the threatened froglet and/or a sustainable development. At Land & Fire Assessments Pty Ltd (LFA) we believe that is best and cheaper in the long-run to identify environmental constraints first and aim at developing the portions of a given site which is the least constrained. LFA staff has extensive experience in flora and fauna impact assessment including comprehensive or targeted flora and fauna reports, which are a further component of this work. LFA staff has extensive experience in the compilation of Biodiversity/Ecological Restoration Management Plans as well as on-going ecological monitoring and evaluation reporting.

Environmental Compliance & Monitoring - Why does it matter?

12/16/2013 12:35:00

Often enough the carefully planned for environmental mitigation measures proposed for a given development are never implemented. Such measures remain part of voluminous recommendations, which once the project is approved are promptly forgotten. This is particularly true during the construction phase. Unless environmental management plans such as Construction Environmental Management Plans (CEMP) are prepared & effectively implemented, most of the environmental mitigation measures proposed at the planning stage are lost.

CEMPs or the like need, however, need to be simple, user-friendly and above all implementable. There is no point in prescribing measures that cannot be easily implemented by the construction contractors and even more importantly cannot be quantified and hence cannot be monitored. The other key component of CEMPs is that they need to be regularly monitored by appointed environmental compliance officers. Compliance staff role is also to report on compliance and provide an on-going feedback loop to the contractor and the relevant authority. Such feed-back loop is crucial in assisting the contractor to continue implementing measures that will protect the environment, but which are feasible and cost effective. Finally, but not least, it is imperative that CEMPs or the like are consistently enforced by the relevant authority.

LFA specialise in environmental compliance monitoring, evaluation and reporting to authorities (eg., construction sites, quarries & site regeneration monitoring).

LFA staff are adept at compiling Construction Environmental Management Plans (CEMP), and at undertaking the associated ongoing monitoring, compliance and reporting. For instance, LFA staff prepared, implemented and reported the CEMP for the construction of an 11 storey building. The construction went on for almost 2 years and LFA staff undertook all monitoring & liaison with contractor and project team, prepared all by-monthly environmental compliance monitoring reports and the compliance final report, as well all the weekly or fortnightly compliance checklists.

2013 Fire Australia Conference & Exhibition

11/27/2013 12:49:00

The 2013 Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA) conference was held on the 20 & 21 November 2013 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre at beautiful Darling Harbour. The conference focused on the The Journey to Professionalism- specifically in regard to enhancing professional standards across the fire protection industry-

The NSW Rural Fire Services (RFS) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons opened the conference and he spoke of his 20 years experience in the field and the changes in the level of professionalism and continual improvements in training and standardised procedures within the RFS. Such professionalism means that during bushfire events such as the recent Blue Mountains fires, he could direct RFS bridades from various part of the country knowing that the standardized training they have received meat that a consistent approach was implemented in controlling the bushfires. In summary, they all spoke the same 'language' and were trained to a given standard.

Commissioner Fitzsimmons also spoke about the RFS support for the Bushfire Planning and Design Accreditation Scheme (BPAD) run by FPA. Such accreditation scheme is an apt example of the journey to professionalism and the core team of the conference. The BPAD accreditation was developed to recognise the skills of individuals who prepare bushfire risk assessments and development plans for new building work. Currently they are 50 accredited BPAD practitioners in NSW.

LFA managing partner is one of the accredited Level 3 or A (the highest accreditation level) PBAD practitioners. As an accredited practitioner Paola can undertake Bushfire Assessment reports for infill and subdivision developments, BAL certificates and Special Fire Protection Purposes (SFPP) developments. She can also undertake alternative solution assessments and assess bushfire compliance with given development conditions.