New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

THREATENED SPECIES CONSERVATION (BIODIVERSITY BANKING) REGULATION 2008 - REG 3

3 Special requirements in relation to land with high biodiversity conservation values

(1) The methodology must provide for a method of identifying areas of land that have high biodiversity conservation values.

(2) An area of land may be identified as having high biodiversity conservation values because of:

(a) the type of vegetation in the area, the extent to which it is cleared or the condition of the vegetation (or any combination of these factors), or

(b) the type of species, populations or ecological communities found in the area.

(3) In addition, the methodology must make provision for the identification of those areas of land that have high biodiversity conservation values because of the presence on the land of any highly cleared vegetation type for the catchment area in which the land is located, which is not in low condition.

(4) The methodology must include provision to the effect that development is not to be regarded as improving or maintaining biodiversity values if the development site comprises or includes an area of land identified by the methodology as having high biodiversity conservation values, or any part of such an area, and the development has an adverse impact on those biodiversity conservation values, unless the Director-General makes a determination, in the particular case, to the effect that:

(a) the contribution of the impacted biodiversity conservation values on the development site to regional biodiversity values is low, and

(b) the impacted biodiversity conservation values are not viable, or their viability is low, and

(c) the Director-General is satisfied that all reasonable measures to avoid the adverse impact on biodiversity conservation values, or improve the viability of the biodiversity conservation values, have been considered.

(5) If the area of land identified as having high biodiversity conservation values is so identified because of the presence of a highly cleared vegetation type for the catchment area, which is not in low condition, the methodology must provide that the Director-General must not make a determination referred to in subclause (4) unless the area of land so identified as having high biodiversity conservation values is less than 4 hectares in size.

(6) For the purposes of this clause, a vegetation type is a "highly cleared vegetation type" for a catchment area if its distribution in the catchment area is equal to or less than 10% of its estimated distribution in the catchment area before the year 1750.

(7) In this clause:
"catchment area" means the area of operations of a catchment management authority established under the Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003 .