FOUR black gums on the banks of the Queen Charlotte’s Vale Creek are now standing in the way of long-awaited flood mitigation works at Perthville – but not for long if Bathurst Regional Council gets its way.
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The Perthville works are the last piece in a flood mitigation jigsaw started by the former Bathurst City Council in 1995.
The planned mitigation works at Perthville will involve the construction of about 1.4km of concrete wall levees and two stormwater pump stations.
The works will also include construction of a large box culvert on the eastern side of the Perthville bridge to increase the creek’s capacity through the village – and that’s where it gets difficult.
A report to councillors by acting engineering services director Darren Sturgiss says there are four eucalyptus aggregata (black gums) on the downside of the bridge where the widening is planned.
Black gums are listed as a vulnerable species under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, meaning council must obtain approval from a number of state government authorities before proceeding.
NSW Fisheries and the Office of Environment and Heritage have both responded to council’s requests for permission to remove the trees by seeking a raft of further information.
NSW Fisheries want council to detail how the creek would be revegetated at the completion of the flood mitigation works and also a bank stabilisation plan that sets out controls to prevent bank erosion and re-establish a riparian corridor after the project is completed.
The OEH is concerned about the black gums and has asked that council:
- Describe the nature, extent, location, timing and layout of the proposed action.
- Describe the location, type, size and condition of the habitats of threatened species, populations and ecological communities.
- Present any feasible alternatives to removing the trees, including a justification of the proposed action.
However, Mr Sturgiss said in his report that there was no alternative to removing the trees.
A Statement Impact Species [SIS] has been prepared and is now on public display.
“It is recommended in the SIS that offset planting of 20 replacement black gums occur, which are to be propagated from the trees to be removed,” Mr Sturgiss wrote.