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The Port of Hastings Corporation has submitted a new referral to the Australian Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act for the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal.
This referral is the next step for the project to confirm the Commonwealth environmental assessment and approvals required for the project to proceed.
In 2023, the Port of Hastings submitted a referral under the EPBC Act for the Victorian Terminal Project. Following assessment, the Federal Minister for the Environment determined that the terminal as proposed in the 2023 referral would have ‘clearly unacceptable’ impacts.
Since then, the port has undertaken preliminary environmental assessments, technical studies and design work to help inform the new referral, with significant reductions to the dredging and reclamation compared to the previous 2023 referral submission.
The new referral addresses concerns outlined by the Australian Government in 2023 and is supported by scientific evidence confirming that project impacts investigated to date are localized and manageable.
The EPBC referral is now live on the EPBC Act Public Portal, and is open for public comment for 10 business days.