ARTC gets green light to progress Inland Rail project in Glenrowan without further EPBC heritage assessment
The Inland Rail Tottenham to Albury (T2A) project in Glenrowan in July 2020 received support from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment to move forward without further assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
August 27, 2020
After the Minister for Environment’s office considered the referral ARTC submitted for assessment under the EPBC Act and public comments received during the 10-day public comment period, they were comfortable that the project will not have a significant impact on ‘a matter of national environmental significance’, which in this case was the National Heritage List Glenrowan Heritage Precinct.
T2A’s Environment Manager Marisa Feher welcomed the news, saying the outcome demonstrated that months of research, investigation work and reporting to develop the referral had paid off.
“Our team has worked very hard to ensure we’d done everything we could to exceed expectations of the Minister regarding requirements of the EPBC Act for Heritage in Glenrowan,” Marisa said.
“The Minister’s support for us to move forward without further Commonwealth assessment shows we’re on the right track to deliver Inland Rail in Glenrowan to a high standard in relation to heritage considerations.”
T2A is now waiting for feedback on the referral for EPBC Biodiversity Matters of National Environmental Significance, excluding Glenrowan, which also invited community feedback in August 2020.
