RES Southern Cross v Minister for Planning and Taralga Landscape Guardians Inc. [2009] NSWLEC 1034

RES Southern Cross v Minister for Planning and Taralga Landscape Guardians Inc. [2009] NSWLEC 1034

The Court accepted the uncontradicted acoustic evidence that the previously envisaged random single-visit noise testing would not assist in determining compliance with condition 42, while a useful regime compliant with the South Australian guidelines would likely amount to de facto continuous monitoring, which had been rejected in the original proceedings. Because the modified turbines would cause at worst an imperceptible increase in noise, the Court accepted the applicant's amended noise conditions 51 to 53A. On Tablelands Basalt Forest, the evidence that additional turbine rows on basaltic soils may contain remnants warranted precautionary investigation, so all turbine rows other than...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 February 2009
Procedural Posture
Development Consent Modification Application / Remitter on Appeal for Further Consideration of Conditions of Consent
Outcome
Appeal upheld and the development consent modified by amendment of the conditions of consent.
Legal Topics
['development Consent Modification' 'wind Farm' 'operational Noise Monitoring' 'endangered Ecological Community' 'tablelands Basalt Forest' 'conditions of Consent']
['planning and Environment Law'] ['development Consent Modification' 'wind Farm' 'operational Noise Monitoring' 'endangered Ecological Community' 'tablelands Basalt Forest' 'conditions of Consent']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Development Consent Modification Application / Remitter on Appeal for Further Consideration of Conditions of Consent

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the conditions of consent should require a random noise testing regime for the modified wind farm.' 'Whether revised noise compliance conditions 51 to 53A should be accepted.' 'Which turbine rows should be subject to precautionary survey requirements for possible Tablelands Basalt Forest Endangered Ecological Community.' 'Whether orders modifying the development consent should be entered or take effect immediately.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court accepted the uncontradicted acoustic evidence that the previously envisaged random single-visit noise testing would not assist in determining compliance with condition 42, while a useful regime compliant with the South Australian guidelines would likely amount to de facto continuous monitoring, which had been rejected in the original proceedings. Because the modified turbines would cause at worst an imperceptible increase in noise, the Court accepted the applicant's amended noise conditions 51 to 53A. On Tablelands Basalt Forest, the evidence that additional turbine rows on basaltic soils may contain remnants warranted precautionary investigation, so all turbine rows other than...

Court Disposition

Appeal upheld and the development consent modified by amendment of the conditions of consent.

Orders

  • ['The further orders are not to take effect until they are entered.' 'The appeal is upheld.' 'The Development Consent given by the Court on 12 February 2007 to Development Application 241/04 is modified by amendment of the conditions of consent as set out in Schedule 1.' 'The Exhibits are returned.']