Project Site Evaluation and Environmental Resources: North East Link

This report provides a comprehensive evaluation of the North East Link project, focusing on its environmental impact. It identifies five key areas of concern: air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, water pollution and catchment values, effects on cultural and heritage spaces, and biodiversity and habitat. The report argues that the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) has covered all relevant environmental resources, including habitat, biodiversity, land stability, cultural heritage, waste management, and more. It emphasizes the importance of mitigating environmental impacts throughout all stages of the project, from planning and construction to operation and demolition. The report highlights the resources covered in the EES to help planners, designers, and contractors to prevent or mitigate potential environmental impacts, ensuring the protection of water, air, plants, animals, land use, and human health.

Project Site Evaluation 1
PROJECT SITE EVALUATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
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Project Site Evaluation 2
Project site evaluation and environmental resources
Question 1
The five key environmental areas of concern of the proposed North East Link route/option
are:
1. Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
This is a key environmental area of concern because the project will produce significant
amount of greenhouse gas emissions at different stages, including construction and operation.
These gases will be emitted directly or indirectly. For example, exploitation, production and
transportation of different materials and components of the road infrastructure and its
equipment will involve consumption of fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gas emissions.
Construction activities, which are estimated to take seven years, will also produce significant
emissions. The road will also be used by hundreds of thousands of vehicles every day that
will produce large volumes of greenhouse gasses daily (Victorian Government, 2018). These
emissions will pollute the environment thus putting human health at risk by affecting air
quality.
2. Waste
A wide variety of wastes will be generated from this project throughout its lifecycle. This
being a mega project, the volume of waste is also expected to be large. Managing this waste
will be a big challenge and some of it is likely to be disposed inappropriately by incineration
or landfilling. Therefore the large volume of different wastes to be generated by the project
makes it a key environmental area of concern.
3. Water pollution and catchment values

Project Site Evaluation 3
This is a major environmental concern because construction and operation activities of
the North East Link will generate substantial amount of waste that is likely to be disposed to
nearby water sources whereas some may penetrate into the groundwater. Some of these
wastes contain toxic substances that will contaminate surface and ground water thus putting
humans, plants and animals at risk. Project works are likely to adversely affect hydrology,
groundwater and waterways; cause disturbance or migration of anthropogenic contaminated
groundwater or soil into waterways; and cause runoff and discharge of contaminated water
into waterways. All these will affect the quality of water in the region.
4. Effects on cultural and heritage spaces
This project is likely to have adverse effects on the historical cultural heritage and
Aboriginal values. According to the proposed route, some sections of the road will pass
through sensitive environmental areas and this is likely to affect the cultural and heritage
values of these areas. Residents within these areas are expected to raise concerns about this
issue and therefore relevant stakeholders should take necessary actions to consult and involve
local communities in the planning process so as to prevent opposition. The sensitive
environmental areas definitely have items, structures, objects or plant and animal species of
great historical and heritage value to the community. For example, some of these areas are
known as “identity of Melbourne” and therefore destroying them to pave way for the road
will not go well with the local community. Thus heritage and cultural spaces are a major
environmental area of concern that should be dealt with diligently.
5. Biodiversity and habitat
The various ecological changes brought about by the project works are likely to cause
adverse effects on the vegetation, threatened and rare species, protected fauna and flora; in-
stream and riparian environments, and habitat degradation (Victoria State Government,

Project Site Evaluation 4
2018). This is a major environmental area of concern because the local community will not
be ready to lose the endangered species they have protected for many years. There are similar
cases where the local community have completely opposed essential infrastructure projects
because of their adverse effects on biodiversity and habitat. Some of the project works may
even cause migration of wild animals including birds because they will find the new
environment and associated activities not fit for their survival. Therefore stakeholders should
establish strategies of minimizing adverse effects on the habitat and biodiversity.
Question 2
Yes, North East Link EES has covered all relevant environmental resources that may
be impacted by the project. This is because the EES has analysed the various elements of the
project, the need and benefits of the project, the requirements for EES, and environmental
performance requirements of the project. It is rather obvious that this project will affect a
wide range of environmental areas including the land/soil, surface and ground water, air,
sound/noise, animals and humans. Therefore the North East Link EES is considered to have
covered all relevant environmental resources if all the above-mentioned areas are covered in
it.
The key environmental resources covered in the North East Link EES include: habitat
and biodiversity; land stability; Aboriginal cultural heritage; historical heritage; waste
management; catchment values; arboriculture; environmental quality, health and amenity;
greenhouse gases; air quality; groundwater; ground movement; vibration and surface noise;
surface water; tunnel vibration; contamination and soil; land use planning; ecology; and
human health. These are the essential environmental resources for any project of this
magnitude. The project’s EES has included all key environmental resources including water,
air, plants, animals, land use and humans. The resources covered in the EES will help

Project Site Evaluation 5
planners, designers and contractors of North East Link to ensure that the road has the
necessary design features to prevent or mitigate its potential environmental impacts. For
example, the EES has provided requirements for the following: preventing contamination of
surface water; prevention of soil contamination; contamination of groundwater; protection of
ground movement; protection of heritage and cultural values; protection and improvement of
visual and landscape value; proper land use planning; enhance social and community life; and
ecological protection.
Another important point about the environmental resources covered in the North East
Link EES is that the resources have considered all potential environmental impacts at
different stages of the project – planning, designing, construction, operation and demolition.
This is very important because each of these stages has a set of environmental impacts that
must be mitigated. Mitigation strategies help in reducing the impacts or their severity on the
environment. Therefore the environmental resources covered in the North East Link EES are
adequate to ensure that the project’s impacts on the environment are managed accordingly.
References
Victoria State Government, 2018. Scoping Requirements for North East Link Project
Environment Effects Statement, Melbourne: Victoria State Government.
Victorian Government, 2018. North East Link Project: Environment Effects Statement
Summary Report 1, Melbourne: Victorian Government.