EIS public exhibition has ended 

From 25 September to 6 November 2024, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure placed Council's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on raising Clarrie Hall Dam on public exhibition through the NSW Planning Portal.

Thank you to everyone who made a submission.

The public exhibition was an important milestone in our journey towards securing all necessary NSW and Australian Government approvals to raise Clarrie Hall Dam by 8.5 metres.

Council is now reviewing the submissions and preparing a Response to Submissions report, which will be provided (along with the EIS and submissions) to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces in late 2025.

In 2026, the Minister will decide whether our proposal to raise the dam can go ahead and what conditions would apply.

If the Minister determines the project can proceed, the elected Council would consider consultant recommendations and the Minister’s determination, and decide to proceed or not to proceed. If they decide to proceed, we'll then undertake business case planning for detailed design and construction, and seek approvals and licences for construction.

Advice about the EIS 

We developed the following resources to assist people in making a submission.

• Information summary of the EIS
• Advice on how to make a submission.
  
  

View the EIS

Head to the Clarrie Hall Dam Raising project page on the NSW Planning Portal.

You will find the EIS covers expert studies commissioned by Council into the impact of raising the dam wall by 8.5 metres on such issues as:

• dam safety
• cultural heritage
• biodiversity
• flooding
• water quality
• hydrology.

It also reviews the impact of constructing the higher dam wall on traffic, noise and air quality.

Read our information summary 

To support you with understanding the EIS, we have developed an information summary.

> Clarrie Hall Dam EIS - Information summary (complete)
Read an overview of the EIS. Learn about proposal, including its objectives and potential impacts. Because this document is large (60 MB), we have extracted the summary's chapters and link to each of these chapters below.

> Introduction

> Engagement

> Impacts - Hydrology

> Impacts - Terrestrial biodiversity

> Impacts - Aquatic ecology

> Impacts - Protected and sensitive lands

> Impacts - Aboriginal heritage

> Impacts - Historic heritage

> Impacts - Social, land use and property

> Impacts - Soils and contamination

> Impacts - Waste

> Impacts - Climate change and sustainability

> Impacts - Noise and vibration

> Impacts - Health and safety

> Impacts - Transport and traffic

> Management framework, mitigation measures and justification

Community information sessions

In October 2024, we ran information sessions face to face and online. Thank you to everyone who attended.

• Kingscliff Bowls Club - 23 October 2024
• Murwillumbah CWA Hall - 24 October 2024
• Uki Holy Trinity Church - 24 October 2024
• Online daytime - 25 October 2024
• Online evening - 28 October 2024

Agency feedback

The EIS also received feedback from a number of Government Agencies. The Agencies included:

• Department of Climate Change Environment Energy and Water - Water
• Conservation Programs, Heritage and Regulation (CPHR)
• Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – Fisheries
• Heritage NSW
• Department of Climate Change Environment Energy and Water - Crown Lands
• National Parks and Wildlife Service
• DPHI and DPHI, who requested regular meetings with Council and potentially other agencies leading up to submitting the Response to Submissions report. DPHI have issued further questions to Council for discussion.
• Commonwealth Department of Climate Change Environment Energy and Water

Role of community feedback 

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure welcomes your feedback on the EIS and the wider dam-raising proposal as it helps the NSW Government understand the views of the community.

This in turn, helps the Government inform its assessment of the project leading to improved design, reduced environmental impact and ecologically sustainable development.

This feedback is being collected by the department through a public exhibition. The exhibition process allows any individual or organisation to have their say about the proposed infrastructure.

The NSW Government has partly funded the EIS through the Safe and Secure Water Program.