Groundwater, construction water, spoil management and local road connectivity have all been flagged as areas of concern in Toowoomba Regional Council's response to the Inland Rail Gowrie to Helidon (G2H) draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Council has also highlighted concerns about construction timing, passenger rail and environmental and planning scheme impacts.
The response, which has been sent to the State Government's Office of the Coordinator-General (OCG), outlines Council's position that the draft EIS does not meet the OCG's Terms of Reference.
The draft EIS has been prepared by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), which is delivering the project on behalf of the Federal Government. Submissions to the OCG closed on Monday (October 25, 2021).
Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said Council believed that construction works proposed to start in the second half of 2021 should not proceed until the flood studies review by an independent panel of international experts had been finalised and the EIS itself had been approved.
