EPA to formally assess proposed Thornlie-Cockburn link environmental impact

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a formal environmental impact assessment on the Thornlie-Cockburn Metronet link.

The EPA announced the potential impacts of the proposed 14.5km dual railway track connecting Thornlie station to Cockburn Central are significant enough to warrant a formal assessment.

Native vegetation will have to be cleared and Bush Forever sites are expected to be lost, while threatened fauna habitat, including 96 potential black cockatoo habitat trees, is in the crosshairs of the project.

The EPA will also consider the potential disturbance of a contaminated site and Swan Coastal Plain wetlands.

Based on the existing information, the EPA believes the project has identified the preliminary key environmental factors and potentially significant impacts.

However, the EPA says additional information is required to thoroughly assess the proposal.

This information includes environmental management measures and plans and environmental offsets for potential impacts.