Projects

Wyaralong Dam Project

Status
EIS complete

The Wyaralong Dam will be located on Teviot Brook, approximately 14 kilometres north-west of Beaudesert in the Logan River catchment.

The dam will create a yield up to 21,000 megalitres per year, when operated in conjunction with Cedar Grove Weir on the Logan River.

The project proponent, Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd, is responsible for the delivery of the Project.

Current Status

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Wyaralong Dam has been approved. Pre-construction works have started on the dam. The successful tenderers for construction of the dam and the realignment of Beaudesert-Boonah Road have been announced.

Project details

The Coordinator-General has completed the evaluation of the environmental effects of the Project and recommended that the project can proceed, subject to the conditions and recommendations outlined in the Coordinator-General’s evaluation report.

The Coordinator-General’s Report has been provided to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts to enable a decision on approval of the controlled action pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).

Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd (QWI) is both the proponent for and the entity intending to undertake the Wyaralong Dam project. This involves the construction and operation of a new dam on the Teviot Brook at about 14.8 kilometre Adopted Middle Thread Distance (AMTD) from its confluence with the Logan River, which is approximately 14 kilometres northwest of Beaudesert. It is recognised that the detailed description of the project may change during the EIS process, due to consideration of concept and detailed design, and assessment of environmental impacts and mitigation measures, including social impacts.

The dam has a proposed full supply level (FSL) of 63.6 m Australian Height Datum (AHD) and the proposed inundation area is located within the Scenic Rim Regional Council local government area. When completed, the dam will provide storage capacity of approximately 103 000 megalitres (ML) and deliver an additional 21 000 ML/a of water to South East Queensland, when operated in conjunction with Cedar Grove Weir.

When full the dam will cover 1230 hectares (ha). The main channel of Teviot Brook will be inundated for a length of about 26.2 kilometres. The proponent proposes the construction of the dam to be complete by 2011.

Three construction options are considered suitable for the Wyaralong Dam: a concrete faced rockfill dam, an earth and rockfill dam, or a roller compacted concrete dam. A fish transfer system has been proposed for the project, and will be developed in greater detail during design, in consultation with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and the Environment Protection Agency.

On 19 September 2006 QWI lodged an Initial Advice Statement with the Coordinator-General for the Wyaralong Dam project. Information made available to the public by the proponent in late October 2006, and to the Commonwealth in mid-November 2006, was based on more refined information as the design progressed. An addendum was included with the IAS to identify such information.

Initial Advice Statement

The project proponent’s Initial Advice Statement (IAS) is available for viewing and download at following links:

Environmental Impact Statement process

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

On 13 December 2006 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 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 (TOR) for the EIS is the first stage of the assessment process. A draft TOR for the EIS was prepared by the Coordinator-General for circulation to key stakeholders and the general public for comment from 13 January 2007 to 26 February 2007. The finalised TOR is available below:

Release of the Environmental Impact Statement

On 5 November 2007 the Coordinator-General determined that the EIS prepared by QWI satisfactorily addressed the Terms of Reference prepared for the project. The EIS public review period commenced on 7 November 2007 and extended to 12 December 2007.

Resources

The complete downloadable EIS, CD-ROM and hard copies are available from Queensland Water Infrastructure.

Supplementary Report to the EIS – May 2008

The Coordinator-General requested QWI prepare a Supplementary Report to respond to matters raised in submissions on the EIS. The Supplementary Report was submitted to the Coordinator-General in May 2008. Download the complete Supplementary Report to the Wyaralong Dam EIS is available from Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd.

Coordinator-General’s Report

The Coordinator-General’s Report (pdf 1.79 MB) assessing the Wyaralong Dam EIS was approved on 7 October 2008 and released on 8 October 2008.

The Coordinator-General evaluated the environmental effects of the project, considering the EIS, the Supplementary Report to the EIS, all properly made submissions and other submissions accepted about the EIS, advice provided by Commonwealth, State and local government authorities (advisory agencies), and other relevant information.

The Coordinator-General recommended that the project as described in the EIS and Supplementary Report to the EIS could proceed, subject to the conditions and recommendations contained in the Coordinator-General’s Report. 

The evaluation concluded that the adverse environmental, economic and social impacts associated with the Wyaralong Dam project are able to be suitably addressed through the implementation of the commitments in the EIS and the Supplementary Report to the EIS, and implementation of the conditions and recommendations in the Report.

The Coordinator-General’s Report has been provided to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts to enable a decision on approval of the controlled action pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).

Further information

For further information about the Wyaralong Dam see the Wyaralong Dam website. The Executive Summary, full EIS, Appendicies and Supplementary Technical Reports and the Supplementary Report to the EIS are available for download from Queensland Water Infrastructure.