Environment

On 15 July 2019 the Dulacca Renewable Energy Project was determined to be a ‘controlled action’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (‘EPBC Act’). In its determination, the Department of Agriculture Water and Environment (DAWE) (formerly Department of the Environment and Energy) confirmed the project would be assessed by ‘preliminary documentation’. The draft Preliminary Documentation which was submitted to DAWE in November 2019.

Public comment on the Preliminary Documentation was sought from 30 April 2020 to 15 May 2020.

The Project received EPBC Act approval on 21 August 2020. A minor variation to the EPBC Act approval was subsequently approved on 30 July 2021.

The EPBC Act approval can be accessed here.

The Dulacca Wind Farm Annual Compliance Reports can be accessed be
2021-2022 Annual Compliance Report
2022-2023 Annual Compliance Report
2023-2024 Annual Compliance Report
2024-2025 Annual Compliance Report

The following management plans and layout plan are published pursuant to condition 25(b) and condition 3 of the EPBC Act approval for the Dulacca Renewable Energy Project (EPBC 2018/8368):

Condition 5 – Vegetation and Fauna Management Plan (redacted) (Rev 4, 27 May 2021)
Condition 6 – Bird and Bat Management Plan (Rev 2.14, 27 July 2021)
Condition 10 – Bird and Bat Management Plan Review (30 November 2022)
Condition 16 – Biodiversity Offset Plan (redacted) (Rev 4, 3 June 2021)
Condition 3 – Final Project Layout Plan

What is it?
Dulacca Woodland Snail (Adclarkia dulacca) is a native snail species and one of three snail species within the genus Adclarkia which also includes the Brigalow Woodland Snail (Adclarkia cameroni) and the Boggomoss Snail (Adclarkia dawsonenisis).

Where does it live?
This species lists in a small number of isolated and fragmented populations in the area between Miles to Yuleba (east to west) and Wandoan to Meandara (north to south) within the Brigalow Belt Bioregion.

They like to live in more humid locations including in leaf litter, under rocks, and in logs where they can safely shelter and conserve moisture. The Dulacca Woodland snail is a nocturnal species that is most active after rainfall.

What does it look like?
Dulacca Woodland Snail have a pale brown to orange-brown shell with an adult snail being approximately 17mm in diameter.

What is its conservation status?
The Dulacca Woodland Snail is listed as an endangered species under both the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (QLD) and the Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) (Cth).

The inclusion of this species in the threatened species list within the EPBC Act occurred in 2016.

How it is significant to the Dulacca Wind Farm?
The project area for the Dulacca Wind Farm falls within the identified range of this species. Recognising a potential for this species to exist within the project area, detailed specialist studies on the habitat and presence of this species were commenced in 2017.

As the design and development of the Project progressed and the availability of habitat and population information within the project area became clearer, the developers at RES were able to adapt the project design to avoid habitat areas.

From the original design of the Project approved by the QLD Government in March 2019 to the layout currently under construction, the area of Dulacca Woodland Snail habitat that may have been impacted by the project has been reduced by more than 95%.

This outcome was achieved with input from ecologists, planning specialists, right through to the engineers and the design team involved in detailed design.

A total area of up to 1.49ha of known or potential habitat will be impacted as part of the construction of the wind farm project.
To offset this impact a 3ha area of degraded habitat has been identified to support the establishment of an ecological offset. For a period more than 30 years this offset area will be actively managed by the owner of the Project to maximise and improve the value of this area as habitat for the Dulacca Woodland Snail.

Through pest control, weed control, and other committed management measures it is anticipated that this area will come to support a healthy population of Dulacca Woodland Snail. Active monitoring of the success of the management measures is required to be undertaken, and we will chart this conservation journey through annual compliance reporting and other reporting obligations set out in our EPBC Act approval.

If you would like to know more information about this species or the status of our conservation work, please contact us