Tribunal’s ruling helps to protect endangered species

Conservationists have scored a win for the endangered spotted handfish, with planning conditions for the Arm End pipeline project changed on appeal.

CONSERVATIONISTS have scored a win for the endangered spotted handfish, with planning conditions for the Arm End pipeline project changed on appeal.

South Arm resident Robyn McNicol and the Tasmanian Conservation Trust appealed Clarence City Council’s decision to approve Arm End’s water reuse pipeline to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal.

The tribunal handed down their decision on Friday.

Ms McNicol said the pipeline, as approved by council, would have killed handfish and seriously damaged their habitat. The tribunal’s decision requires the pipeline to be installed under the sea bed for a distance of more than 500m from the shore instead of 200m and at least 3.5m under the sea bed and into bed rock instead of the proposed depth of 1.5m.

It also requires all work to be done outside the handfish breeding season.

The 6.8km, $3.5 million pipe will pump recycled water from TasWater’s Blackmans Bay treatment plant across the River Derwent to irrigate South Arm farms and properties and the Arm End recreational reserve and golf course.

Arm End project manager Craig Ferguson said the handfish habitat had always been 100-per-cent protected. He said the planning appeal was resolved by mediation and a consent agreement between the parties.

“The consent agreement gives clarity as to the depth at which horizontal directional drilling will take place under the sea bed or ground surface,” Mr Ferguson said.

He said the Arm End project only needed environmental, social, economic and cultural aspects ticked off by the Parks and Wildlife Service to complete all regulatory approvals.

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Ms McNicol said given the limitations of the Clarence planning rules they never had a realistic chance of stopping or relocating the pipeline.

“The spotted handfish is now a lot safer with numerous additional conditions being placed on the development as a result of a mediated outcome.” she said.

TCT director Peter McGlone said the changes protected one of only 10 known populations of the spotted handfish in the world.

Clarence Mayor Doug Chipman said he was pleased the tribunal approved the application and looked forward to work commencing.

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