TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGICAL VALUES OF THE PROPOSED WAIKATO POWER

PLANT SITE

Prepared for Nova Energy

December 2015

Executive Summary Nova Energy is investigating the development of a nominal 300 Megawatt (MW) open cycle gas turbine power plant approximately 10 km north of Otorohanga to be known as the Waikato Power Plant. The proposed Waikato Power Plant site is located off State Highway 31, Kawhia Road and occupies approximately five hectares within an 80 hectare working dairy farm. Nova Energy is in the process of gathering information to support an application for resource consents and a Notice of Requirement to allow the construction of the proposed power plant and associated transmission line. Mitchell Partnerships Limited was retained to undertake a site visit and review terrestrial ecology information pertaining to both the existing environment and the conceptual project description for the proposed construction. The vegetation that would be affected by the proposal comprises exotic pasture. Although vegetation there includes indigenous elements as a minor component, it is not considered predominantly indigenous. The only species of conservation concern known to be present is the New Zealand pipit. Pipits are species of open rough pasture and the presence of power lines within the landscape is very unlikely to adversely affect pipit populations. There are no significant issues relating to terrestrial ecology that might affect the ability of the project as proposed to achieve consent.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT 2

3. SITE DESCRIPTION 2

3.1 Vegetation 2 3.2 Fauna 7

3.2.1 Avifauna 7 3.2.2 Herpetofauna 7

4. CONCLUSION 7

5. REFERENCES 8

LIST OF PLATES

1: The Site of the proposed Waikato Power Plant. 3

2: Riparian vegetation near the Site. 4

3: Small shrubland remnants near the location of the proposed Waikato Power Plant. 5

4: Vegetation in the vicinity of the proposed transmission route. 6

5: Vegetation near the existing transmission line southwest of the Site. 6

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1. INTRODUCTION

Nova Energy (‘Nova’) is investigating the development of a nominal 300 Megawatt (MW) open cycle gas turbine power plant north of Otorohanga to be known as the Waikato Power Plant. The proposed site of the Waikato Power Plant (‘the Site’) is located off State Highway 31, Kawhia Road, approximately 10 km north of Otorohanga. The Site occupies approximately five hectares within an 80 hectare working dairy farm owned by Nova Energy and accessed from State Highway 31, Kawhia Rd, either via the existing farm entrance or via a new entrance to be established at the northern end of the farm. The key features of the proposed development include:

Earthworks and civil construction including site levelling and pouring of concrete for foundations of heavy equipment, buildings, tanks and transformers.

Construction of new access roads.

Installation of gas turbines and the associated emissions of combustion products and operational noise.

Construction of water treatment facilities requiring a water supply and wastewater containment facilities.

Installation of fire protection systems including water storage.

Construction of plant room, workshop, staff amenities and control room buildings.

Provision of gas reception and pipeline facilities.

Construction of high voltage substation and transmission lines for power export to the national grid. The development will have a dedicated 220 kV power transmission spur line that will allow electricity production from the Site to be exported into the National Grid. The spur line will connect to the National Grid approximately 500 m west of the Site.

Nova is in the process of gathering information to support an application for resource consents and a Notice of Requirement to allow the construction of the proposed power plant and associated transmission lines. Mitchell Partnerships Limited was retained to undertake a site visit and review terrestrial ecology information pertaining to both the existing environment at the Site and the conceptual project description for the proposed construction. The aim of this task was to identify any significant consenting risks of the conceptual project design with respect to terrestrial ecological matters. A second aim was to identify any information gaps that could be addressed prior to the application for consents being lodged. This report is based on a day-long visit to the site on 25 November 2015 with Mr Nick Carter of Freshwater Solutions Limited, during which the Site and surrounds was explored by vehicle and on foot. Publically available information about the Site and a search of the Department of Conservation’s Herpetofauna Database were also used to inform this report.

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This report consists of five sections as follows: Section 1 (this Introduction) describes the proposal and the objectives of this report. Section 2 describes the ecological context of the site and the values of the Ecological District within which it is located. Section 3 describes the vegetation and fauna present at the site. Section 4 provides our conclusions with respect to any effects on terrestrial ecological values. Section 5 provides the references used in compiling this report.

2. ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT

The Site is located within the Waipa Ecological District and Waikato Ecological Region (McEwen 1987). The Site is located near the boundary with the adjoining Waitomo Ecological District, which is part of the King Country Ecological Region. The Waipa Ecological District was defined on the basis of topography and geology and comprises an inland basin comprising mostly Pleistocene pumiceous alluvium and conglomerate with small areas of peat. The Waipa Ecological District is approximately triangular in shape with the northern boundary located north of Te Awamutu extending from the eastern foothills of Pirongia, to the western foothills of Maungatautari at Puahue. The eastern boundary runs south to include Te Kuiti (at the apex of the triangle), then curves north, lying west of Otorohanga and Tihiroa, and continuing towards Pirongia. The Waipa Ecological District is approximately 69,634 ha in size and the district experiences warm, humid summers, relatively mild winters and an annual rainfall of 1,100 – 1,500 mm (McEwen 1987, Deichmann and Kessels 2013). Most of the district has been converted to farmland or residential areas with only around 1 % of indigenous forest, <1% of shrubland and < 0.5% of wetlands remaining within the district (Leathwick et al., 1995). The nationally vulnerable long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) has been recorded in the north of the district, near Pirongia and in Kihikihi township (Deichmann and Kessels 2013). The goldstripe gecko (Woodworthia chrysosireticus) and Auckland green gecko (Naultinus elegans) have been recorded at Kakepuku reserve, with the Auckland green gecko also recorded near Parawera township (Deichmann and Kessels 2013). Within the district the forested peak of Kakepuku is the largest area of intact indigenous vegetation and provides habitat for several species of conservation interest.

3. SITE DESCRIPTION

3.1 Vegetation

The farm is bisected by tributaries of the Ongaruhe Stream, a tributary of the Waipa River. The stream is fenced throughout most of its length through the farm and it is within the generally narrow riparian margin that most native species are located. The

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Site itself, shown in Plate 1, comprises higher production pasture. A small unfenced stream or drain drains part of the Site.

Plate 1: The Site of the proposed Waikato Power Plant. The occasional native species present within the riparian vegetation included sedges such as Carex geminata, C. virgata and C. subdola and ferns such as ring fern (Paesia scaberula), kiokio (Blechnum novae-zelandiae), Diplazium australe and silver fern (Cyathea dealbata). Wiwi (Juncus edgariae) was also occasionally encountered within the riparian vegetation. An example of the riparian vegetation is shown in Plate 2. A list of plant species encountered during the site visit is provided in Appendix 1.

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Plate 2: Riparian vegetation near the Site. Within the Site itself the higher producing pasture included perennial rye (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) with occasional pasture weeds, such as broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius), Carex divulsa, spearwort (Ranunculus flammula), catchfly (Silene gallica) creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) and broad-leaved flea bane (Conyza sumatrensis), particularly in damper or pugged areas. There were several very small remnants of native vegetation on the steeper slopes near the site. The canopy of these remnants was dominated by mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus) with occasional mamaku (Cyathea medullaris) and wheki (Dicksonia squarrosa), but there was no real indigenous understorey, with grazing having removed any native species leaving grass, litter and bare earth as the predominant ground cover. An example of such remnants is shown in Plate 3.

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Plate 3: Small shrubland remnants near the location of the proposed Waikato

Power Plant. The vegetation along the proposed transmission route was similar with a mixture of exotic pasture species and occasional isolated mahoe trees and exotic trees such as willow (Salix fragilis) and poplar (Populus yunnanensis). Examples of vegetation along the transmission route are shown in Plates 4 and 5.

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Plate 4: Vegetation in the vicinity of the proposed transmission route.

Plate 5: Vegetation near the existing transmission line southwest of the Site.

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3.2 Fauna

3.2.1 Avifauna

Birds seen or heard during the site visit include exotic species and common native species typical of rural areas. A list of bird species seen or heard is provided in Appendix 2. The only species of conservation interest recorded was the New Zealand pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae). Pipits have a conservation threat ranking of “At Risk (Declining)” (Robertson et al. 2012). A single pipit was seen using rough pasture on a steeper part of the property near the proposed location of the transmission line. Pipits are commonly found in farmland, coastal, wetland and forested habitats, but are absent from much of the Auckland and Waikato Regions and are only sparsely present where they do occur. Typically pipits occur in the rough pasture areas of the steeper hill country surrounding the more intensively developed parts of the Waikato Region such as that found in the Hapuakohe and Raglan Ecological Districts (Robertson et al. 2007, G. Bramley, pers. obs.). Pipits are considerably more common along the west coast of those regions, and are known from the areas immediately north of Auckland in reasonable numbers (Robertson et al. 2007). They are absent from the more intensively farmed or inhabited areas, including the Hamilton Basin and Auckland city (Robertson et al. 2007), because of a lack of suitable habitat. The Waikato is not regarded as a stronghold area for pipit populations. Nationally New Zealand pipits are more common through the central North Island (south of Taupo), Northland, East Cape and throughout most of the South Island (Robertson et al. 2007) and less common or absent from the more developed Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu, Canterbury and Southland regions.

3.2.2 Herpetofauna

A search of the Department of Conservation’s Herpetofauna Database1 revealed records of only Pacific gecko (Dactylocnemis pacificus) and Auckland green (or elegant) gecko within 5 km of the Site:. The Pacific gecko is nocturnal and occupies retreats beneath loose bark or knot holes in forest, crevices in clay banks or rocky areas by day and forages in forest, shrubland or grassland at night. The elegant gecko occupies forest and most commonly manuka and kanuka shrubland. There is no suitable habitat for either species either at the Site or along the proposed transmission line route.

4. CONCLUSION

The Otorohanga District Plan (2014) includes Criteria for Determining the Significance of Indigenous Vegetation as Appendix 2. The criteria are not relevant to vegetation at the Site because although vegetation there includes indigenous elements as a minor component, it is not considered predominantly indigenous. On that basis none of the vegetation at the site would be considered significant with respect to Section 6(c) of the Resource Management Act (1991).

1 Database accessed 17 December 2015. B Kappers, Department of Conservation, pers.

comm.

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The only species of conservation concern known to be present is the New Zealand pipit. As discussed above, pipits are species of open rough pasture and the presence of power lines within the landscape is very unlikely to adversely affect pipit populations. The Power Plant itself would be located on high producing pasture which is not preferred pipit habitat. The presence of abundant rough pasture habitats in the vicinity which would remain unaffected further supports the conclusion that no adverse effects on pipits should be anticipated. There are no significant issues relating to terrestrial ecology that might affect the ability of the project (including transmission lines) as proposed to achieve consent. The paucity of indigenous species and habitats in the wider area means that any effects on terrestrial ecology would be limited to provision of ecological services such as sediment control. Provided best practice is followed with respect to construction, these effects are expected to be less than minor. No further information is required to assess the ecological values of the Site.

5. REFERENCES

Deichmann, B. and Kessels, G.H.A. 2013. Significant natural areas of the Waipa District: terrestrial and wetland systems. Waikato Regional Council Technical Report 2013/16. Kessels and Associates Limited, Hamilton East. 48 pp + appendices.

McEwen, W.M. 1987. Ecological Regions and Districts of New Zealand. Third revised

edition in four 1:500 000 Maps. New Zealand Biological Resources Centre, Department of Conservation, Wellington.

Leathwick JR, Clarkson BD, Whaley PT 1995. Vegetation of the Waikato Region:

current and historical perspectives. Landcare Research contract report LC9596/022, prepared for Waikato Regional Council. Hamilton, ManaakiWhenua - Landcare Research (DOCS# 1485592).

Robertson, C.J.R., Hyvӧnen, P., Fraser, M.J. and Pickard, C.R. 2007. Atlas of Bird

Distribution in New Zealand 1999-2004. The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Incorporated. Wellington, New Zealand. 533 pp.

Robertson, H.A., Dowding, J.E., Elliott, G.P., Hitchmough, R.A., Miskelly, C.M.,

O’Donnell, C.F.J., Powlesland, R.G., Sagar, P.M., Scofield, R.P., Taylor, G.A. 2013: Conservation status of New Zealand birds, 2012. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 4. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 22 pp.

Appendix 1

Plant Species Encountered

Plant Species Encountered

Latin Name Common Name

Monocots (grasses and sedges)

Anthoxanthum odoratum* Sweet vernal

Bromus willdenowii* Prairie grass

Carex divulsa* Grey sedge

Carex geminate Rautahi

Carex subdola

Carex virgate Swamp sedge

Cortaderia selloana* Pampas

Critesion murinum* Barley grass

Cynosurus cristatus* Crested dog’s tail

Cyperus ustulatus Umbrella sedge

Dactylis glomerata* Cocksfoot

Holcus lanatus* Yorkshire fog

Isolepis prolifera

Juncus canadensis*

Juncus edgariae Wiwi

Poa annua* Annual poa

Phormium tenax Harakeke, flax

Typha orientalis Raupo

Dicot herbs and lianes

Achillea millefolium* Yarrow

Apium nodiflorum* Water celery

Bellis perennis* Lawn daisy

Bidens frondosa* Beggars’ ticks

Brassica rapa var. oleifera* Wild turnip

Calystegia silvatica* Great bindweed

Carduus nutans* Nodding thistle

Cirsium arvense* Californian thistle

Cirsium vulgare* Scotch thistle

Conyza sumatrensis* Broad-leaved flea bane

Digitalis purpurea* Foxglove

Erichtetes valerianifolia* Brazilian fireweed

Galium aparine* Cleavers

Geranium molle* Doves foot cranesbill

Hypochoeris radicata* Hawkbit

Jacobaea vulgaris* Ragwort

Lemna disperma Duckweed

Ludwigia palustris* Water purslane

Myosotis laxa* Water forget-me-not

Persicaria hydropiper* Water pepper

Plantago lanceolata* Narrow-leaved plantain

Plantago major* Broad-leaved plantain

Potamogeton crispus* Curly pondweed

Prunella vulgaris* Selfheal

Ranunculus flammula* Spearwort

Ranunculus repens* Creeping buttercup

Ranunculus sardous* Hairy buttercup

Rubus fruticosus agg. Blackberry

Rumex acetosella* Sheep’s sorrell

Latin Name Common Name

Rumex obtusifolius* Broad-leaved dock

Silene gallica* Catchfly

Soliva sessilis* Onehunga weed

Taraxacum officinale* Dandelion

Trifolium repens* White clover

Trifolium pratense* Red clover

Veronica arvensis* Field speedwell

Ferns

Blechnum novae-zelandiae Kiokio

Cyathea dealbata Silver fern

Dicksonia fibrosa Wheki-ponga

Dicksonia squarrosa Wheki

Diplazium austral

Paesia scaberula Ring fern

Pyrrosia elaeagnifolia Leather-leaf fern

Woody trees, shrubs and lianes

Acer pseudoplanatus* Sycamore

Berberis glaucocarpa* Barberry

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana* Lawson’s cypress

Eucalyptus cinerea*

Leycesteria formosa* Himalayan honeysuckle

Ligustrum sinensis* Chinese privet

Melicytus ramiflorus Mahoe

Populus yunnanensis* Yunnan poplar

Prunus x domestica Plum tree

Rosa rubiginosa* Brier rose

Salix fragilis* Crack willow

Ulex europaeus* Gorse

Appendix 2

Bird Species Recorded

Bird Species Recorded

Latin name Common Name

Acridotheres tristis* Myna

Anas platyrhynchos* Mallard

Anthus novaeseelandiae New Zealand pipit

Carduelis carduelis* Goldfinch

Circus approximans Harrier

Cracticus tibicen* Australian magpie

Egretta novaehollandiae White-faced heron

Emberiza citrinella* Yellowhammer

Hirundo neoxena neoxena Welcome swallow

Passer domesticus* House sparrow

Phasianus colchicus* Pheasant

Porphyrio melanotus melanotus Pukeko

Rhipidura fuliginosa Fantail

Sturnus vulgaris* Starling

Tadorna variegata Paradise shelduck, putangitangi

Todiramphus sanctus vagans Kotare, New Zealand kingfisher

Turdus merula* Blackbird

Zosterops lateralis Waxeye, silvereye