Located about 27 kilometres upstream of Gympie in the Mary River catchment, the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam will deliver an additional 70,000 megalitres of water per year when stage one is completed in 2011. The project is being designed in two stages.

Overview

Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd (QWI) is both the proponent for and the entity intending to undertake the Traveston Crossing Dam Project - Stage 1, involving the construction and operation of a new dam on the Mary River at about adopted middle thread distance (AMTD) 207 km, which is approximately 27 kilometres upstream of Gympie. QWI is responsible for delivery of the project.

Stage one involves the construction of a 153,000 megalitres storage at Traveston Crossing on the Mary River to deliver up to 70,000 megalitres per year.

Stage two, due for completion in 2035 (should it be required and if approved), will see Traveston Crossing Dam potentially yielding up to 150,000 megalitres.

The Queensland Government has yet to make a decision in relation to the development of Stage two as this will be dependent on future demand, project viability, and further environmental approvals.

Current status

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Traveston Crossing Dam Stage one was released on 20 October 2007. The public review and submission period closed on 14 January 2008. The proponent prepared and submitted a supplementary report to the EIS in August 2008 to address matters raised in submissions received on the EIS.

The Coordinator-General’s report evaluating the EIS for the Traveston Crossing Dam Stage 1 project was released on 6 October 2009. In evaluating the environmental effects, the Coordinator-General considered the EIS, the supplementary report to the EIS, detailed environmental management plans prepared by the proponent, public submissions received on the EIS, and other relevant information including advice provided by state and local government authorities.

The Coordinator-General determined that the project can proceed, subject to a set of stringent conditions and requirements to manage potential adverse impacts. These more than 1200 conditions and requirements are outlined in the Coordinator-General’s report.

This state assessment of the project has been conducted in accordance with the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (Qld). The Coordinator-General’s report is currently with the Australian Government for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) and the bilateral agreement between the Australian Government and the State of Queensland relating to environmental assessment.

The Coordinator-General’s full report and information sheets are available for download below. The Executive Summary, full EIS, Appendices and Supplementary Technical Reports are available for download on the Queensland Water Infrastructure website.

Project details

A current project description is detailed below. Specific details of this description may be changed or refined throughout the environmental assessment process and will be updated as this is determined.

The dam has a proposed full supply level (FSL) of 71 metres Australian Height Datum (AHD), and the proposed inundation area is located within the Gympie Regional Council and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council local government areas. When completed, the dam will provide storage capacity of approximately 153 000 megalitres (ML) and deliver an additional 70 000 ML per year of water to South East Queensland.

At full supply level the inundation area will cover approximately 3000 hectares. The main channel of the Mary River will be inundated for a length of approximately 36.5 kilometres.

The Traveston Crossing Dam is considered suitable for a Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam with a wall height of approximately 59 metres. A fish passage device will be incorporated into the dam design.

Initial Advice Statement

On 18 September 2006 QWI lodged an Initial Advice Statement (IAS) with the Coordinator-General for the Traveston Crossing Dam Project – Stage 1. Information made available to the public by the proponent in October 2006, and to the Commonwealth in November 2006, was based on more refined information as the design progressed. An addendum has been included with the IAS to identify such information.

The proponent's IAS is available for viewing and download via the links below:

Initial Advice Statement ( 565 KB)

• IAS - Figure 3.1 ( 429 KB)
• IAS - Figure 4.1 ( 962 KB)
• IAS - Figure 4.2 ( 849 KB)
• IAS - Figure 4.8 ( 239 KB)
• IAS - Figure 4.9 ( 372 KB)
• IAS - Figure 4.11 ( 1.1 MB)

Environmental impact statement process

On 20 October 2006 the Coordinator-General declared the Traveston Crossing Dam – Stage 1 to be a ‘significant project’ for which an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required, pursuant to section 26(1)(a) of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (Qld).

On 29 November 2006 the delegate for the Federal Minister for the Department of the Environment and Heritage decided that the project constitutes a ‘controlled action’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) due to the likely potential impacts on matters of national environmental significance. The controlling provisions under the EPBC Act are:

• Sections 12 and 15A (World Heritage)
• Sections 16 and 17B (Ramsar Wetlands)
• Sections 18 and 18A (Listed threatened species and communities)
• Sections 20 and 20A (Listed Migratory Species).

The EIS process is accredited under the bilateral agreement between the Australian Government and the State of Queensland and will address matters on behalf of both the Australian and Queensland governments. The EIS process is being coordinated by the Department of Infrastructure and Planning on behalf of the Coordinator-General.

Terms of reference

The preparation of the terms of reference for the EIS was the first stage of the assessment process. A draft terms of reference for the EIS was prepared by the Coordinator-General for circulation to key stakeholders and the general public for comment from 9 December 2006 to 19 February 2007.

The Coordinator-General considered all submissions prior to finalising the terms of reference. The finalised terms of reference is available below:

• Terms of Reference ( 324 KB)

Release of the environmental impact statement

On 17 October 2007 the Coordinator-General determined that the EIS prepared by QWI satisfactorily addressed the terms of reference. The EIS was released for public review and comment on 20 October 2007. Submissions were received between 22 October 2007 and 14 January 2008 (extended from original closing date of 3 December 2009).

• EIS Executive Summary ( 3.2 MB)

The complete EIS may be downloaded from the Queensland Water Infrastructure website.

Extension of the submission period

A number of discrepancies were identified in relation to the various forms of the EIS, advertised on 20 October 2007. Consequently, the Coordinator-General decided to extend the submission period until the close of business on 14 January 2008.

Addendum to EIS

QWI prepared an Addendum identifying the discrepancies in the documentation. The Addendum Report for the Traveston Crossing Dam Project – Stage 1 EIS is available below:

Addendum Report ( 57 KB)

• Attachment 1 ( 417 KB)
• Attachment 2 ( 746 KB)
• Attachment 3 ( 986 KB)
• Attachment 4 ( 670 KB)
• Attachment 5 ( 584 KB)
• Attachment 6 - Fig 1A-7 ( 3.8 MB)
• Attachment 6 - Fig 8A-8F ( 2.3 MB)
• Attachment 6 - Fig 9A-9F ( 2.2 MB)
• Attachment 6 - Fig 10A-14 ( 4.5 MB)
• Attachment 7 - Part A ( 676 KB)
• Attachment 7 - Part B ( 639 KB)
• Attachment 8 ( 3.1 MB)
• Attachment 9 ( 325 KB)

Supplementary Report to the EIS

On 10 March 2008 the Coordinator-General wrote to QWI, requesting QWI prepare a Supplementary Report to the Traveston Crossing Dam EIS. The supplementary report responds to matters raised in submissions on the EIS and was considered in the preparation of the Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report.

The supplementary report was submitted to the Coordinator-General in August 2008. Following consultation with advisory agencies, the Coordinator-General requested QWI prepare an Addendum to the Supplementary Report to the Traveston Crossing Dam EIS, to address clarifications and corrections identified by the Advisory Agencies. The Addendum Report to the Supplementary Report on the Traveston Crossing Dam EIS was submitted to the Coordinator-General in April 2009.

The complete Supplementary Report to the Traveston Crossing Dam EIS and the Addendum Report is available electronically from Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd.

Variation of the proposed action under EPBC Act

The Coordinator-General received a letter from QWI dated 13 February 2009, informing him that the Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts had decided to accept QWI’s request to exclude the proposed relocation of a 10km section of the Bruce Highway as a component of the Traveston Crossing Dam Project.

Read the correspondence received from QWI, the QWI letter requesting the variation of the proposed action, and the DEWHA decision to accept the variation to the proposed action ( 286 KB).

Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report

The Coordinator-General has completed his evaluation report for the Traveston Crossing Dam Stage 1. The Coordinator-General has recommended that the project can proceed, subject to the conditions and recommendations contained within the Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report, and QWI updated commitments, contained within QWI’s Response to Reviewer Reports.

The Coordinator-General’s evaluation report will now be provided to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, to be evaluated under section 133 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report for Traveston Crossing Dam Stage 1 is available below:

• Full report ( 2.58 MB)
• Synopsis ( 93 KB)
• Report ( 1.01 MB)
• Appendix 1 ( 1.25 MB)
• Appendix 2 ( 509 KB)
• Appendix 3 ( 91 KB)

The Department of Infrastructure and Planning have prepared seven information sheets about the Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report for Traveston Crossing Dam. These information sheets have been prepared as a brief summary and guide only, and are not a complete re-statement of the report.

Information sheets:

• Species ( 102 KB)
• Habitat ( 114 KB)
• Water ( 114 KB)
• Land ( 286 KB)
• Social and economic ( 124 KB)
• Fishway and turtle passage ( 109 KB)
• Next steps ( 98 KB)

Further information

Following QWI’s submission of the Supplementary Report to the EIS, the Coordinator-General requested further information for consideration in his evaluation of the project. QWI’s responses to information requests are contained within the following documents:

• Response to Reviewer Reports
• Implementation Framework
• Response to Information Requests

To view these documents and for further information, see the Queensland Water Infrastructure website.

Further information considered by the Coordinator-General included the Draft Survival Strategy for the Australian Lungfish ( 256 KB).