Guidelines released for second airport in Sydney

Canberra has ­released a set of more than 40 ­restrictions to govern the construction of the western Sydney airport.

The federal government has ­released a set of more than 40 ­restrictions to govern the construction of the western Sydney airport. Picture: AAP

The federal government has ­released a set of more than 40 ­restrictions to govern the construction of the western Sydney airport to protect the area’s local flora and fauna, sacred Aboriginal sites and ensure noise pollution and 24-hour flight paths do not cause too much disruption for local residents.

The release of the report is the last hurdle before Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher can finalise the Badgerys Creek airport plan, hand it to Sydney Airport and authorise the first steps of its construction.

The new rules will be included in the final airport plan and will bind any airport developer and operator to comply with them.

“With the strict environmental conditions in place, along with the existing regulatory regime, the Environment Minister’s ­notice affirms that a single-­runway airport can go ahead without unacceptable impacts to the envir­onment,” Mr Fletcher said.

The report covers a gamut of conditions, including rules around construction, the disinterment of human remains from local cemeteries and airspace regulations to limit noise pollution on residential areas and the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

A $180 million biodiversity ­offset plan has been pledged in the new rules as well as a five-year, $10m native seed program to protect the area’s endangered native flora.

In releasing the report late yesterday, Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the conditions were as comprehensive as any placed on other airports in the country.

“The recommended conditions have been informed by a thorough and rigorous ­review of the environmental ­impact statement and draft airport plan, a site visit and meetings with key local leaders to hear first-hand the ­issues important to the community,” he said.

“Extensive consultation was carried … where there were around 5000 submissions and 16 community information events across nine different council areas in western Sydney.”