Author: Petra Stock
A cultural heritage assessment is part of every application to develop a wind farm in Australia. It considers the potential impacts of the project on Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultural heritage. Under Victoria legislation, you can't get planning approval without an approved cultural heritage management plan.
State and federal legislation protects Aboriginal cultural heritage. Non-Aboriginal cultural heritage may be protected under local, state or federal legislation, if sites are listed. And while some sites aren't protected by legislation, they may have special significance to the local community.
Standard assessment
State legislation differs on what the cultural heritage assessment must include, but a standard assessment usually involves:
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a review of local, state and federal heritage registers to identify any known cultural heritage sites on the proposed site or surrounding area. Known listed sites indicate the type of sites and objects in the region, and suggest the likelihood of finding further cultural heritage sites within the proposed site
- consultation with the Native Title Tribunal to establish the status of any native title claims on the proposed site
- consultation with local Aboriginal groups and any local history groups
- a review of relevant documents, such as previous cultural heritage reports, for an overview of the history and significance of the proposed site and surrounding area
- a cultural heritage survey, in which the heritage consultant and representatives from the local Aboriginal group walk the proposed site, specifically areas where ground will be disturbed during construction, such as wind turbine locations, access tracks, substation locations, and the proposed transmission line route.
Implications for wind farm layout
The cultural heritage assessment will identify any known cultural heritage sites and objects within the proposed wind farm site and areas of cultural heritage sensitivity (landscape features where there may be further, as yet unrecorded sites).
You should use information from the cultural heritage assessment to guide your proposed wind farm layout. When you adjust your wind farm layout to minimise potential impacts on cultural heritage, it is more likely to be approved by local Aboriginal groups and the relevant planning authorities. This can also help you significantly reduce the cost and time associated with detailed cultural heritage assessments, such as excavation and monitoring of ground disturbance.
Avoid sensitive areas wherever possible. If you can't, you'll need special permission to disturb or destroy them.
Once your wind farm layout is finalised, it's important to check your cultural heritage assessment covers the complete development footprint. If not, the heritage consultant and Aboriginal representatives will have to go back and survey new proposed wind turbine locations and other aspects of the site.
Detailed assessment
You may need to do further detailed assessments, either as part of the development application stage or as a condition of planning approval.
Excavation
This is particularly the case in Victoria, where the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 requires all assessment and archaeological excavation to be done as part of the cultural heritage management plan process before development approval.
Archaeological excavation is precise and time-consuming work, usually carried out by archaeologists and representatives of the local Aboriginal group. Excavation involves marking out areas to be tested, digging trenches by hand or machine, and analysing in detail any artifacts you find.
Monitoring
Cultural heritage monitoring involves local Aboriginal representatives observing excavation and ground disturbance works during construction. Monitoring is usually limited to potentially sensitive sites where there's a high probability of sub-surface sites or objects being discovered. But you may need to do it for all ground disturbance activities.
If sites or objects are identified by cultural heritage monitors, then construction work is usually stopped until an assessment by a qualified archaeologist is complete, and any approvals or permissions to disturb or destroy the site granted.
Site procedures
Site procedures and protocols are usually required to protect cultural heritage if sites, objects or remains are uncovered during construction.
Your construction staff may have a cultural heritage induction or similar training.
Native title
Native title generally doesn’t apply on private land, but may exist on crown land, reserves, some types of pastoral leases, and other land not privately owned (for example, beaches, oceans and rivers). While most wind farm proposals are on private farming land, it's prudent to consult with the Native Title Tribunal to confirm whether or not native title applies.
If there are native title holders, they have the right to negotiate on how a project is carried out.
Heritage consultants
As cultural heritage is a specialist area, you need to engage a professional heritage consultant, archaeologist and/or anthropologist to assess your proposed wind farm site.
Qualities to look for
It helps if the consultant you employ has:
- previous wind farm experience
- good working relationships with local Aboriginal groups and the relevant state authority
- a track record of approved cultural heritage plans
- reasonable costs and availability.