Abstract
The Bluff Point and Studland Bay Wind Farms (formerly, the Woolnorth Wind Farm) was approved by Commonwealth and State regulators in 2001 and commenced operations in 2002 and 2007, respectively. A suite of monitoring and management actions, some required under approval permit conditions and others beyond these requirements, have been in place at these wind farms since operations commenced. During 2010, an extensive review of all the monitoring and management actions contained in relevant Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) was undertaken by Roaring 40s (owner of the wind farms at the time), personnel from the Tasmanian Environment Protection Authority, EPA, and Department of Primary Industry, Parks, Water and Environment. The purpose of the review was to examine the effectiveness and utility of each program and management action. The review was a collaborative, structured risk assessment. It found some monitoring programs were completed and cessation was recommended. Others had not adequately targeted key risks or were unlikely to achieve their objectives and were modified or ceased. The process enabled gaps in knowledge to be identified and surveys designed to target these gaps. The outcome of this review was that the new EMPs addressed the agreed risks at the sites, and comprised a combination of compliance monitoring and research to build knowledge about the agreed risks. The key learnings were that: assumptions about risks on site should be carefully evaluated and tested; objectives of surveys need to be clearly defined; survey design must be robust and follow scientific best practice; management actions must be informed by evidence or sound logic; and processes such as adaptive management and evidence-based principles are integral to the management of the sites. Details of the review process are outlined, along with the surveys and programs that were found to be successful and those that weren’t.