Border Mail
Tuesday 26/9/2006 Page: 12
THE company behind a proposed wind farm on Victoria's southeast coast hopes its latest planning submission will appease concerns about the endangered orange-bellied parrot.
Wind Power wants to build a 52-turbine wind farm at Bald Hills in South Gippsland.
Wind Power spokesman Andrew Newbold said yesterday the submission addressed the concerns of federal Minister for the Environment Ian Campbell, who knocked back the first application, saying the turbines threatened the endangered orange-bellied parrot.
"(The senator) agreed to reconsider the proposal according to the merits. Mr Newbold said. "The only physical changes are that we've moved six turbines a few metres back, and made it very clear there is a 150m buffer between the nearest turbine. "We're not losing any turbines and it's a concession we can feel comfortable making."
In April this year, Senator Campbell overturned State Government approval for the Bald Hills wind farm using his discretionary powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Despite a departmental report indicating there would be negligible effect on the bird species, an independent report found more serious concerns about potential parrot deaths.
The minister acted, blocking the $220 million project. But after Federal Court proceedings in August, Senator Campbell agreed to reconsider the decision and accept a revised submission.
0 comments:
Post a Comment