Chance for community to have a voice on Gowrie to Helidon Draft EIS

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gowrie to Helidon (G2H) section of Inland Rail is currently out for public consultation and Lockyer Valley Regional Council is encouraging the community to have a voice.

Following on from the Helidon to Calvert (H2C) section, which the community reviewed earlier this year, the current draft EIS for the G2H is open for submissions prior to 25 October 2021.

Lockyer Valley Mayor, Cr Tanya Milligan said this was the community’s opportunity to consider the findings of the EIS and have their say.

“The H2C section of the inland Rail Project is a 28km long freight railway, with 22 kilometres set to be a new corridor.

“A six-kilometre tunnel leaves Gowrie and emerges from the Range into the Lockyer Valley to the south of the existing Second Range Crossing.

“Due to the hilly terrain the tunnel is mostly on structures and embankments, some up to 47 and 33 metres high respectively, with more than 2.1M cubic metres of fill,” Mayor Milligan said.

Council has identified a range of impacts of concern, which include flooding, impacts to traffic, noise and vibration, flora and fauna impacts and the contamination of groundwater.

The Independent International Panel of Experts for Flood Studies of Inland Rail in Queensland also reported on the G2H, raising a series of issues in relation to the flood modelling.

“Clearly there will be enormous impacts from these works and impacts on property holders, the environment and council roads.

“Council is committed to seeking the best possible outcomes for our community and will make a strong submission, but what we really need is for our residents to express their concerns and lodge a submission of their own prior to the deadline,” Mayor Milligan said.

Although the EIS is a large document, making a submission is simple. Council encourages all residents who have concerns of their own, or are similar to Council’s early findings, to make a submission to the Coordinator-General by visiting the ‘Coordinator General’s website https://haveyoursay.dsd.qld.gov.au/coordinatorgeneral/inlandrailg2h-deis/