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Summary

Executive Summary Aurecon Jacobs Mott MacDonald Joint Venture (AJM JV) on behalf of Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) has prepared Preliminary Documentation for the proposed Gippsland Line Upgrade – Pakenham to Longwarry East, Victoria (EPBC Ref: 2019/8563). On 9 September 2020, the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DoAWE) (‘the Department’) deemed that the project works require approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (‘the Act’) through the assessment of Preliminary Documentation. The proposed works have been assessed to be a controlled action by the Department under the EPBC Act, as it is likely to have significant impact on listed threatened species and communities (section 18 and 18A of the Act).

Only one threatened species, the Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus obesulus), is proposed to have potential to be significantly impacted by the proposed action. This species is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act. The project results in a residual impact of 0.901 ha of habitat to be removed that has been identified as core habitat for the Southern Brown Bandicoot. This document forms the Offset Management Plan component of the Preliminary Documentation and demonstrates how the environmental offsets will compensate for the loss of Southern Brown Bandicoot habitat.

An offset has been proposed to account for the removal of this habitat. The offset site is located at Loch Sport approximately 150km to the east of the proposed impact site. A 5 ha portion of a larger offset site located at Loch Sport will be allocated to the Gippsland Line Upgrade project. The Southern Brown Bandicoot has been confirmed in the broader offset property as well as specifically within the 5 ha portion that will be allocated to the Gippsland Line Upgrade Project. Two separate records of the species were taken from infrared cameras within the EPBC Offset site (from 23rd July and 18th August 2020) with two additional records recently being provided within the broader offset property (near to the EPBC offset site) from the 16th and 22nd December 2020. Southern Brown Bandicoot presence is further supported by a historical record in the VBA on the property from 1993.

The Environmental Outcome to be achieved by the offset site is no net loss in habitat for the Southern Brown Bandicoot within Victoria as a result of the Gippsland Line Upgrade – Pakenham to Longwarry East project. This Offset Management Plan describes how the offset site will be secured, managed and monitored to meet the Environmental Outcome. The offset site will be secured through a Trust for Nature Covenant. Management actions to be completed at the offset site include reducing the presence and extent of pest plants and animals and prohibiting pedestrians from entering the site. Based on the EPBC Act offset calculator the retention and management of 5 ha of confirmed Southern Brown Bandicoot habitat within the proposed offset site achieves a direct offset of 137.44% of the impact.