Transport has prepared a REF for the Tarago Rail Corridor. The REF identifies the potential environmental impacts of the proposal and the mitigation measures to protect the community and environment.

The key potential impacts or risks identified by the REF include:

• dust management during demolition, excavation and heavy vehicle loading
• soil and water management
• heavy vehicle movements and materials tracking.

The REF outlines the mitigation measures to minimise impacts on the community and environment. These include:

• a dust management plan - which will be prepared by the remediation contractor before remediation work starts and implemented during the work
• air quality monitoring – which will be conducted during the remediation work
• a soil and water management plan – which will be implemented during remediation to protect local creeks
• a traffic management plan – which will be implemented during remediation.

The key findings of the REF are:

• removing contaminated materials is expected to result in positive social impacts and protect the environment
• identified environmental impacts can be adequately mitigated by implementing environmental safeguards and management measures.
• an environmental impact statement, species impact statement and/or biodiversity development assessment report are not required for the proposal
• the proposal is not likely to have a significant impact on the environment due to the limited scope of works and the expected level of remediation required
• the proposal is unlikely to impact on a matter of national environmental significance, and therefore a referral under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act is not required.

You can read the REF here.