The draft Scoping Requirements for four of the proposed Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project (VMFRP) sites will be released this Friday 23 April on the Engage Victoria website.

DELWP will exhibit the draft scoping requirements for public comment for 15 business days ending on midnight 14 May. This gives stakeholders and the community an opportunity to raise key issues related to potential impacts and benefits that they would like to see covered in either the joint EES for Lindsay and Wallpolla Islands or the joint EES for Hattah Lakes North and Belsar–Yungera.

An EES describes the benefits and potential environmental effects of a project and outlines how these impacts will be managed if the project goes ahead. It takes 12 to 18 months and involves scientific reviews and surveys, along with consultation with stakeholders, Traditional Owners and local communities.

The remaining five VMFRP sites are being assessed under two Environment Reports (ER) instead of an EES. The two ER scopes are still in preparation by DELWP and will be made public once finalised. There will not be a formal process to obtain public feedback on the ER scopes.

Comments on the two EESs will be invited via the Engage Victoria website from 23 April until midnight 14 May. 

For more information on the EES process, visit planning.vic.gov.au/environmental-assessment or contact the Impact Assessment Unit on (03) 8392 5503 (Monday to Friday).

For more information on the VMFRP, email info@vmfrp.vic.gov.au or register for updates.