Snowy Hydro acknowledges and thanks the National Parks Association of NSW’s ongoing attention to matters relevant to Kosciuszko National Park, including the construction of Snowy 2.0.
As a longtime operator of the Snowy Scheme within Kosciuszko National Park, we recognise the park is a sensitive environment with high conservation values that require protection. We continue to seek ways to make positive contributions to Kosciuszko National Park through actions such as road improvements and a $100 million investment to improve the biodiversity and recreational values of the park.
Snowy Hydro takes its environmental management obligations very seriously and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that the construction and operation of Snowy 2.0 is carried out in a manner that is compliant with all applicable laws and project approvals.
The NPA refers to Snowy 2.0 environmental management plans, the project’s Independent Environmental Audits (IEAs), and state government compliance actions.
There are six management plans yet to be approved and these relate to the management of environmental impacts during the Snowy 2.0 commissioning and operations phase only, which is a couple of years away, not current construction activities. Despite this, progress of each of these plans is well advanced and are either awaiting input from relevant stakeholder organisations or are being revised following formal feedback. Snowy Hydro is actively engaging with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) on the progress of each plan.
Snowy Hydro undertakes more IEAs than are required under the project approvals due to the sensitive nature of the environment and the scope of the Snowy 2.0 project. Of the 12 non-compliances identified from 372 elements assessed under the most recent IEA, none caused any actual harm and all are being rectified as a matter of priority.
The Snowy 2.0 project has been the subject of several compliance actions by EPA and DPHI over the last two years and in each case, important lessons have been learned that have informed improvements to policies, procedures and site practices. Snowy Hydro continues to take these matters very seriously and implement steps to ensure that identified incidents do not happen again.
Snowy 2.0, a pumped-hydro expansion of the Snowy Scheme, will provide 2,200 megawatts of on-demand, dispatchable energy and almost a week of renewable energy storage to help maintain grid security and reliability while enabling Australia’s decarbonisation.