New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT ACT 1979 - SECT 34A

34A Consultation with Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife about preparation of studies or instruments

(1) The Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning must consult with the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife before preparing:

(a) a draft State environmental planning policy, or

(b) an environmental study or a draft regional environmental plan,

if, in the opinion of the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, critical habitat or threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats, will or may be affected by the draft policy, environmental study or draft plan.

(2) A council must consult with the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife before preparing:

(a) an environmental study, or

(b) a draft local environmental plan,

if, in the opinion of the council, critical habitat or threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats, will or may be affected by the environmental study or draft plan.

(3) For the purpose of the consultation, the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning or the council must provide the following information to the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife:

(a) the reasons for deciding to prepare the draft environmental planning instrument or the environmental study,

(b) the proposed aims, objectives, policies and strategies whereby the draft instrument is designed to achieve any of the objects of this Act,

(c) a description of the land to which the draft instrument or the study is intended to apply,

(d) the types of matters to be dealt with in the draft instrument or the study.

(4) For the purposes of the consultation, the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning or the council may provide any other information that, in the Director-General’s or council’s opinion, would assist in understanding the draft environmental planning instrument or the environmental study.

(5) The Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife may comment to the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning or the council on the preparation of the draft environmental planning instrument or the environmental study within 40 days after the information required to be provided under subsection (3) is provided.

(6) The consultation required by this section is completed when the Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning or the council has considered any comments so made.

Note: Section 5C provides that a reference to the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife, in connection with the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 , is taken, in the case of threatened species, populations or ecological communities of fish or marine vegetation, to be a reference to the Director of NSW Fisheries.