ecologia Environment would like to congratulate Main Roads WA (MRWA) on being a finalist in the 2011 Western Australian Environment Awards with the Perth Bunbury Highway Project.

In its 10th year, the State Government's awards program aims to encourage and recognise community involvement in caring for the State's environment. ecologia has a long history of working with MRWA and is proud to have contributed to the project by completing the Public Environmental Review.

The Environment Awards are co-ordinated by the Department of Environment and Conservation and are generously sponsored by the Publishers National Environment Bureau, Western Power, Swan River Trust, Royalties for Regions, the Packaging Stewardship Forum, Whiteman Park, Rheem and the Waste Authority. Awards winners will be announced at a presentation dinner at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday, November 25. Tickets are available from the DEC website. 

ecologia's involvement on the Perth Bunbury Highway, Peel Deviation: PER for Main Roads WA

Main Roads engaged GB Hill consulting engineers to develop a final road alignment and carry out the PER assessment for the Peel Deviation in July 1995. GB Hill subsequently engaged ecologia Environmental Consultants to carry out the environmental component of the assessment and prepare the PER document. 

The first stage of the PER study was to determine an alignment for the highway route based on Main Roads 1986 alignment. A number of alignment options were considered and assessed in terms of their environmental, social, engineering and economic impacts. The Road Alignment Definition process involved Main Roads in the following consultation activities:

• convening a Consultative Liaison Group (August 1995) comprising State and Local Government agencies and representatives of community groups, such as the Farmers Federation and the Peel Preservation Group, with the aim of facilitating information transfer,

• contacting all possibly affect landowners to aid in the identification of opportunities and constraints,

• distribution of information brochure with reply paid response pro-forma to all possibly affected landowners, other relevant individuals and community groups,

• exhibiting possible alignment options at manned and unmanned displays at Pinjarra, Waroona and Mandurah.

The information gathered and public input was used in the Road Alignment Definition process to develop the preferred road alignment on which the PER document was based. This process saw significant improvements to the alignment developed by Main Roads in 1986 particularly in the northern and southern sections of the route. The consultation phase conducted during the development of the PER commenced in December 1995 and involved the following activities:

• on-going meetings of the CLG

• general distribution of an information brochure (with reply paid responses)

• specific discussions and correspondence with landowners directly affected by the proposed alignment, and on-site meetings as requested

• public information displays at Mandurah, Pinjarra and Waroona libraries

• written responses to all submissions where requested.

During the development of the PER the alignment at the southern section was further amended in consultation with DEP and CALM to reduce the impact on Tuart woodland by utilising privately owned land on which a limestone quarry currently exists, and to better balance environmental impacts between Tuart Peppermint woodland and pine plantation. 

The PER document was finalised on the revised alignment and released for public comment on January 11, 1997. However alternative alignments were proposed in submissions to the PER, forwarded in correspondence and presented at a number of meetings with Main Roads and the Minister for Transport by the landowners impacted by the PER alignment.

Main Roads subsequently considered landowner suggested alternative alignments for the northern portion of the Peel Deviation alignment between Lakes Road and South Yunderup Road and for the southern portion of the alignment between Doman Road and the Old Coast Road. After a review of the alternative alignments it was found that there was no net benefit in either of the alternative alignments over the Peel Deviation alignment documented in the PER.  

The Minister for Transport subsequently endorsed the PER alignment as that to be progressed through the environmental approvals process.