BORUMBA PUMPED HYDRO PROJECT – NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

Borumba Pumped Hydro and its associated transmission lines pose a threat to communities, private property, vulnerable and endangered species, natural habitat, and vegetation in Wide Bay.

“Queensland Hydro is seeking planning and environment approvals for the Borumba project from the State and Federal Government’s, and because of the project’s significant potential environmental, social, and economic impacts, an Environmental Impact Study is required as part of the approval process,” Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien said today.

“This is an important opportunity for the community to have their say on whether the draft Terms of Reference for the Environmental Impact Study adequately covers all the matters that Borumba Pumped Hydro must address in preparing their impact statement.”

Queensland Hydro, a publicly owned company established by the Queensland Government is proposing to develop the $14.2 billion Borumba Pumped Hydro project in the Gympie and Somerset Regional Council local government areas.

“The regional community has expressed to me their fears that the Borumba project will destroy the beauty and liveability of their homes, create an increased fire risk, and cause the loss of native habitat and prime agricultural land,” Mr O’Brien said.

Borumba’s proposed Transmission Towers will be 70 metres high, made up of 75 metric tonnes of steel and 20 metres of concrete foundations, designed to carry up to 500 kilovolts of electrical current.

The project’s Draft Corridor Report recommends a corridor for the transmission lines, impacting up to 133 freehold properties around Kilkivan, 168 south of Nanango, 1040 hectares (2,570 acres) of agricultural land, and the destruction of between 54 and 83 kilometres of native forest.

“The privately held forest to be cleared is also habitat for endangered and critically endangered fauna and flora, including the Northern Quoll, Koalas, and Native Guava,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The project is part of the Albanese Government’s $80 billion plan to carve more than 27,000 km of new high-voltage transmission lines to link industrial, land-intensive solar, wind and pumped hydro to the grid.

The draft Terms of Reference for the Borumba Pumped Hydro project can be found at www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/BorumbaPHES, and members of the public have until 28 March 2024 to comment on the content of the draft. 

“Please don’t miss this opportunity to have your say about the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of this project on the regional community,” Mr O’Brien said.

Submissions on the draft Terms of Reference can be made at https://haveyoursay.dsd.qld.gov.au/coordinatorgeneral/borumbaphesdtor.

Printed copies of the Terms of reference can also be viewed at the Imbil, Gympie, Cooroy, or Esk Libraries, or the State Library of QLD and National Library in Canberra.