EIS now on public exhibition

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has placed Tweed Shire Council's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on raising Clarrie Hall Dam on public exhibition through the NSW Planning Portal.

This is an important milestone in our journey towards securing all necessary NSW and Australian Government approvals to raise the dam by 8.5 metres.

Should we gain government approval and the elected Council decides to proceed with detailed design and construction, our dam-raising project would almost triple its capacity to about 42,300 megalitres, securing the Tweed’s water supply until at least 2065.

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is accepting submissions on the EIS. Now is the time to make a submission.

The public exhibition end date is Wednesday 6 November.

Advice about the EIS

We have developed the following resources to assist you to make a submission.

• Information summary of the EIS
• Advice on how to make a submission
  
  

Community information sessions

We’re also running information sessions face to face and online, and inviting everyone in the Tweed to attend.

Face-to-face sessions

Simply turn up and ask questions of Council staff and project experts. There’s no need to book in.

Kingscliff Bowls Club
5 to 7 pm, Wednesday 23 October 2024
131 Marine Parade, Kingscliff

Murwillumbah CWA Hall
12.30 to 2.30 pm, Thursday 24 October 2024
20 Queen Street, Murwillumbah

Uki Holy Trinity Church
5 to 7 pm, Thursday 24 October 2024
1473 Kyogle Road, Uki

Online sessions

Before joining an online session, please register your attendance through these links.

Online session, daytime
10 to 11.30 am, Friday 25 October 2024
> Register now

Online session, evening
5.30 to 7 pm, Monday 28 October 2024
> Register now

View the EIS

Head to the Clarrie Hall Dam Raising project page on the NSW Planning Portal.

View a hard copy at our face-to-face information sessions, Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads offices, and the Tweed Heads, Kingscliff and Murwillumbah libraries.

You will find the EIS covers expert studies commissioned by Council into the impact of raising the dam wall by 8.5 metres on such issues as:

• dam safety
• cultural heritage
• biodiversity
• flooding
• water quality
• hydrology.

It also reviews the impact of constructing the higher dam wall on traffic, noise and air quality.

Read our information summary of the EIS

To support you with understanding the EIS, we have developed an information summary.

> Clarrie Hall Dam EIS - Information summary (complete)
Read an overview of the EIS. Learn about proposal, including its objectives and potential impacts. Because this document is large (60 MB), we have extracted the summary's chapters and link to each of these chapters below.

> Introduction

> Engagement

> Impacts - Hydrology

> Impacts - Terrestrial biodiversity

> Impacts - Aquatic ecology

> Impacts - Protected and sensitive lands

> Impacts - Aboriginal heritage

> Impacts - Historic heritage

> Impacts - Social, land use and property

> Impacts - Soils and contamination

> Impacts - Waste

> Impacts - Climate change and sustainability

> Impacts - Noise and vibration

> Impacts - Health and safety

> Impacts - Transport and traffic

> Management framework, mitigation measures and justification

How to make a submission

You must lodge your submission online through the NSW Planning Portal before the end date of the project’s exhibition: Wednesday 6 November 2024.

Council cannot receive submissions on the department’s behalf.

Before lodging a submission, please read the department’s:

• disclaimer and declaration
• privacy statement.

NB: To promote an open and transparent planning system, the department will publish all submissions on the NSW Planning Portal. If you wish to stay anonymous, do not include any personal information in the body of your submission.

When you lodge a submission, you will need to provide the following information:

• your name and address
• the name of the application and the application number
• a statement on whether you ‘support’ or ‘object’ to the proposal or if you are simply providing comment
• the reasons why you support or object to the proposal
• a declaration of any reportable political donations you have made in the last 2 years (to find out more, visit the department’s Donations and Gift Disclosure webpage or phone Service NSW on 1300 305 695)
• an acknowledgement that you accept the department’s disclaimer and declaration.

For more information, read the department’s submissions policy.

Need more help?

Helpful resources on using the NSW Planning Portal are available online. There’s a step-by-step guide and video on how to make a submission.

You can also call Service NSW on 1300 305 695.

The department encourages you to seek assistance early to ensure you have plenty of time to make a submission before the project’s exhibition end date.

! For a print ready version of our advice on how to make a submission, download our information sheet.

Role of community feedback

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure welcomes your feedback on the EIS and the wider dam-raising proposal as it helps the NSW Government understand the views of the community.

This in turn, helps the Government inform its assessment of the project leading to improved design, reduced environmental impact and ecologically sustainable development.

This feedback is being collected by the department through a public exhibition. The exhibition process allows any individual or organisation to have their say about the proposed infrastructure.

The NSW Government has partly funded the EIS through the Safe and Secure Water Program.