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Queensland
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND OTHER
LEGISLATION
AMENDMENT BILL 2000
Queensland
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND
OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
BILL 2000
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
ACT 1994
3 Act amended in pt 2 and schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4 Insertion of new ch 1, pt 3, div 2, sdiv 3A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Subdivision 3A--Environmentally relevant activities
17A Meaning of "environmentally relevant activity" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
17B Environmentally relevant activity may be prescribed . . . . . . . . . . . 31
17C Levels for environmentally relevant activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5 Replacement of s 20 (Effect of Act on other Acts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
20 Relationship with other Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6 Insertion of new chs 2A2D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
CHAPTER 2A--ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS
PART 1--EIS PROCESS
Division 1--Preliminary
Subdivision 1--Application
34 When EIS process applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Subdivision 2--Definitions for pt 1
34AA Who is an "affected person" for a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
34AB Other definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Subdivision 3--Purposes of EIS
34AC Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Division 2--Terms of reference stage
Subdivision 1--Draft terms of reference
34AD Submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Subdivision 2--Public notification of draft terms of reference
34AE Preparation of TOR notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
34AF Public notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
34AG Proponent to be given comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
34AH Advice to chief executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Subdivision 3--Final terms of reference
34AI Finalising terms of reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Division 3--Submission stage
34AJ When EIS may be submitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
34AK Chief executive may require copies of EIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
34AL Decision on whether EIS may proceed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
34AM Ministerial review of refusal to allow to proceed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Division 4--Notification stage
Subdivision 1--Public notice requirements
34AN Public notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
34AO Required content of EIS notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
34AP Declaration of compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Subdivision 2--Submissions
34AQ Right to make submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
34AR Acceptance of submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
34AS Response to submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Division 5--EIS assessment report
34AT EIS assessment report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
34AU Criteria for preparing report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
34AV Required content of report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Division 6--Completion of process
3
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
34AW When process is completed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Division 7--Miscellaneous provisions
Subdivision 1--Inquiries by chief executive
34AX Application of sdiv 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
34AY Chief executive may seek advice, comment or information . . . . . . 50
34AZ Disclosure of relevant documents or information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
34BA Inquiry does not alter process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Subdivision 2--Public inspection
34BC Public access to draft terms of reference or submitted EIS . . . . . . . 51
Subdivision 3--Amending EIS
34BD Amending EIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Subdivision 4--Effects of noncompliance with process
34BE Process is suspended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
34BF Substantial compliance with notice requirements may be
accepted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
PART 2--VOLUNTARY PREPARATION OF EIS
34BG Purpose of pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
34BH Projects that may be approved for EIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
34BI Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
34BJ Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
CHAPTER 2B--DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES OTHER THAN FOR MINING
ACTIVITIES
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
34BK Application of ch 2B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
34BL Types of environmental authority under ch 2B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
PART 2--DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS
Division 1--Assessable development use for Integrated Planning Act
34BM Development for Integrated Planning Act, sch 8, pt 1, item 6 . . . . 57
34BN Additional material change of use for Integrated Planning Act . . . . 57
Division 2--Assessing development applications
34BO Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
34BP Assessing development applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
34BQ Conditions of development approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Division 3--Effect of issue of certain development approvals
34BR Development approvals continue to have effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
PART 3--ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY APPLICATIONS
Division 1--Obtaining licence (with development approval)
34BS Operation of div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
34BT Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
34BU Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
34BV Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
34BW Conditions that may be imposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
34BX Steps after granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Division 2--Obtaining licence (without development approval)
Subdivision 1--General provisions for obtaining licence
34BY Operation of sdiv 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
34BZ Definitions for sdiv 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
34CA Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
34CB Public access to application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
34CC Public notice of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
34CD Required content of application notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
34CE Declaration of compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
34CF Substantial compliance may be accepted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
34CG Right to make submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
34CH Acceptance of submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
34CI Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
34CJ Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
34CK Conditions that may and must be imposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
34CL Steps after granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Subdivision 2--Provisional licences
34CM When provisional licence may be issued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
34CN Steps after decision to grant provisional licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
34CO Term of provisional licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
34CP Reminder notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
34CQ Application for new licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Division 3--Obtaining level 2 approval
34CR Operation of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
34CS Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
34CT Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
34CU Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
34CV Conditions that may and must be imposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
34CW Steps after granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Division 4--Miscellaneous provisions
34CX When environmental authorities under pt 3 take effect . . . . . . . . . . 74
34CY Term of environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
34CZ Information notice about decision on application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
PART 4--CONVERSION OF LICENCE TO LEVEL 1 APPROVAL
Division 1--Conversion applications
34DA When conversion application may be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
34DB Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Division 2--Processing conversion applications
34DC Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
34DD Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
34DE Conditions of converted environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
34DF Steps after granting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
34DG When conversion takes effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
34DH Information notice about decision on conversion application . . . . . 79
PART 5--AMENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES BY
APPLICATION
34DI Environmental authorities that may be amended by application . . . 80
34DJ Requirements for amendment application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
34DK Public notice may be required for licence amendment . . . . . . . . . . 80
34DL Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
34DM Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
34DN Decision on application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
34DO Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
34DP When amendment takes effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
PART 6--DEALINGS WITH LICENCES
Division 1--Required notice to proposed transferee
34DQ Notice of disposal by licence holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Division 2--Transfer of licences (without development approval)
34DR Transfer only by approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
34DS Requirements for transfer application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
34DT Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
34DU Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Division 3--Surrender of licences (without development approval)
34DV Surrender of licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
PART 7--AMENDMENT, CANCELLATION OR SUSPENSION
OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES BY ADMINISTERING
AUTHORITY
Division 1--Conditions for amendment, cancellation or suspension
Subdivision 1--Amendments
34DW Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
34DX Other amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Subdivision 2--Cancellation or suspension
34DY Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Division 2--Procedure for amendment without agreement,
cancellation or suspension
34DZ Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
34EA Notice of proposed action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
34EB Considering representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
34EC Decision on proposed action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
34ED Notice of proposed action decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Division 3--Steps after making decision
34EE Steps for corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
34EF Steps for amendment by agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
34EG Steps for amendment without agreement or for
cancellation or suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
7
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
PART 8--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
34EGA Environmental authorities for new
environmentally relevant activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
34EH Administering authority may call conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
34EI Failure to decide application taken to be refusal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
34EJ Grounds for refusing application for or to transfer
environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
34EK No dealings with licence (with development approval) or
approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
34EL Notice of ceasing activity under certain environmental
authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
34EM Death of licence holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
CHAPTER 2C--ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES FOR
MINING ACTIVITIES
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
Division 1--Introduction
34EN Purpose of ch 2C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Division 2--Key definitions for ch 2C
34EO What is a "mining activity" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
34EP Types of "environmental authority (mining activities)" . . . . . . . . . 97
34EQ What is a "mining project" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
34ER What are "application documents" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Division 3--Standard mining activities
34ES Standard mining activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
PART 2--GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR OBTAINING
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY (MINING ACTIVITIES)
Division 1--Introduction
34ET Outline of process to obtain environmental authority
(mining activities) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Division 2--Applications
Subdivision 1--General provisions about applications
34EU Who may apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
34EV General requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
8
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Subdivision 2--Applications for mining projects
34EW Single application required for mining project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
34EX Single environmental authority required for mining project . . . . . . . 104
Subdivision 3--Joint applications
34EY Application of sdiv 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
34EZ Joint application may be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
34FA Appointment of principal applicant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
34FB Effect of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Division 3--Assessment level decision for certain applications
34FC Operation of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
34FD Assessment level decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
34FE Consequence of failure to decide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
34FF Decision about EIS requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
34FG Ministerial decision about assessment level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
34FH Notice for non-standard applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
PART 3--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY
(PROSPECTING) APPLICATIONS
34FI Operation of pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
34FJ Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
34FK Consequence of failure to decide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
34FL Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
34FM Notice of refusal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
PART 4--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY
(MINING CLAIM) APPLICATIONS
Division 1--Preliminary
34FN Operation of pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Division 2--Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed
34FO Administering authority may refuse application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
34FP Notice of refusal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Division 3--Draft environmental authority stage
34FQ Obligation to prepare draft environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
34FR Additional conditions may be included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
9
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Division 4--Public notice, objection and decision stage
34FS Mining lease process under pt 6, divs 68 applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
PART 5--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY
(EXPLORATION) AND ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY (MINERAL
DEVELOPMENT) APPLICATIONS
Division 1--Preliminary
34FT Operation of pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Division 2--Standard applications
34FU Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
34FV Additional conditions may be imposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
34FW Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
34FX Consequence of failure to decide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
34FY Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
34FZ Notice about refusal or condition decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Division 3--Non-standard applications
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
34GA Application of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Subdivision 2--EIS stage
34GB EIS process applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Subdivision 3--Environmental management document stage
34GC Environmental management plan required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
34GD Purpose of environmental management plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
34GE Environmental management plan--content requirements . . . . . . . . 118
34GF Amending environmental management plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
34GG EM plan assessment report may be prepared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
34GH Requirements for EM plan assessment report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Subdivision 4--Decision stage
34GI Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
34GJ Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
34GK Information notice about refusal or condition decision . . . . . . . . . . . 122
10
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
PART 6--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY
(MINING LEASE) APPLICATIONS
Division 1--Preliminary
34GL Operation of pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
34GM Summary of pt 6 process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Division 2--EIS stage for non-standard applications
34GN Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
34GO EIS process applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Division 3--Environmental management document stage for
non-standard applications
34GP Application of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
34GQ EMOS required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
34GR Purpose of EMOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
34GS EMOS--content requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
34GT Amending EMOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
34GU EMOS assessment report may be prepared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
34GV Requirements for EMOS assessment report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Division 4--Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed
34GW Administering authority may refuse
application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Division 5--Draft environmental authority stage
34GX Obligation to prepare draft environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
34GY Conditions--standard applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
34GZ Conditions--non-standard applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Division 6--Public notice and objections stage for all applications
34HA Public notice of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
34HB Required content of application notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
34HC Public access to application documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
34HD Declaration of compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
34HE Substantial compliance may be accepted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
34HF Right to make objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
34HG Acceptance of objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
34HH Amendment or withdrawal of objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
11
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Division 7--Decision stage
Subdivision 1--Referral to tribunal if current objection
34HI Referral to tribunal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
34HJ Objections decision hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
34HK Tribunal mediation of objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
34HL Nature of objections decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
34HM Matters to be considered for objections decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
34HN Advice from MRA Minister about objections decision . . . . . . . . . . 138
34HO EPA Minister's decision on application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
34HP Grant of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Subdivision 2--Grant if no current objection at end of objection
period or before objections decision
34HQ Application of sdiv 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
34HR Grant of application on basis of draft environmental authority . . . . 140
Division 8--Miscellaneous provisions
34HS Withdrawing an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
34HT Certain objections apply for later applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
34HU Effects of noncompliance with application process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
PART 7--PLAN OF OPERATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
AUTHORITY (MINING LEASE)
34HV Application of pt 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
34HW Plan of operations required before
acting under relevant mining lease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
34HX Content requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
34HY Amending or replacing plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
34HZ Environmental authority overrides plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
PART 8--AMENDMENT OF AUTHORITIES BY APPLICATION
Division 1--Preliminary
34IA Exclusions from amendment under pt 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Division 2--General provisions for amendment applications
34IB Who may apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
34IC Additional conditions may be sought for standard authorities . . . . . 146
34ID Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
12
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Division 3--Processing amendment applications for standard authorities
34IE Application of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
34IF Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
34IG Consequence of failure to decide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
34IH Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Division 4--Processing other amendment applications
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
34II Application of div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Subdivision 2--Assessment level decision
34IJ Assessment level and EIS decisions for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
34IK Ministerial decision about assessment level and EIS decisions . . . 149
34IL Automatic refusal if EIS required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
34IM Notice of assessment level decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Subdivision 3--Process if decision is significant increase in
environmental harm likely and EIS not required
34IN Application of sdiv 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
34IO Relevant application process applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
34IP Refusal on ground that replacement environmental
authority needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
34IQ Previous environmental management document may be
amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
34IR Public notice of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
34IS Objection period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Subdivision 4--Process if decision is significant environmental
harm increase unlikely
34IT Application of sdiv 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
34IU Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
34IV Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
PART 9--TRANSFER OF AUTHORITIES
Division 1--Transfer applications
34IW Transfer only by approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
34IX Requirements for transfer application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
34IY Audit statement may be required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
13
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Division 2--Processing transfer applications
34IZ Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
34JA Refusal on ground that amendment required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
34JB Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
34JC Effect of plan of operations and environmental
management documents after transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
34JD Notice to owners of transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
PART 10--SURRENDER OF AUTHORITIES
Division 1--General provisions for surrender
34JE Prospecting permit can not be surrendered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
34JF Surrender only by approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
34JG Surrender may be partial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
34JH When surrender application required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
34JI Notice by administering authority to make surrender application . . 161
34JJ Failure to comply with surrender notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Division 2--Surrender applications
Subdivision 1--Requirements for surrender applications
34JK Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Subdivision 2--Final rehabilitation reports
34JL Content requirements for report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
34JM Amending report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
34JN FRR assessment report may be given . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Subdivision 3--Processing surrender applications
34JO Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
34JP Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
34JQ Steps after making decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
PART 11--ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS FOR MINING ACTIVITIES
Division 1--Audit requirements
34JR Administering authority may require environmental audit . . . . . . . . 165
34JS Failure to comply with audit notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
34JT Costs of complying with audit notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
14
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
Division 2--Audits by administering authority
34JU Administering authority may conduct environmental audit . . . . . . . 166
34JV Administering authority's costs of environmental audit or report . . 167
Division 3--Auditors and conduct of environmental audits
34JW Appointment of auditors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
34JX Appointment conditions and term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
34JY Who may conduct environmental audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
34JZ Impersonation of auditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Division 4--Miscellaneous provisions
34KA False or misleading information about environmental audits . . . . . 168
PART 12--AMENDMENT, CANCELLATION OR SUSPENSION
BY ADMINISTERING AUTHORITY
Division 1--Conditions for amendment, cancellation or suspension
Subdivision 1--Amendments
34KB Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
34KC Other amendments--standard authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
34KD Other amendments--non-standard authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Subdivision 2--Cancellation or suspension
34KE Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Division 2--Procedure for amendment without agreement or for
cancellation or suspension
34KF Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
34KG Notice of proposed action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
34KH Considering representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
34KI Decision on proposed action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
34KJ Notice of proposed action decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Division 3--Steps after making decision
34KK Steps for corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
34KL Steps for amendment by agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
34KM Steps for amendment without agreement or for
cancellation or suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
15
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
PART 13--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Division 1--Advice from MRA chief executive
34KN Requirement to seek advice from MRA chief executive . . . . . . . . . 177
Division 2--When authorities or transfers take effect
34KO Restrictions on environmental authority or transfer taking effect . . 178
Division 3--General provisions for applications and conditions
34KP Grounds for refusing application for or to transfer
environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
34KQ Conditions that may be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
34KR Additional conditions override standard environmental
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Division 4--Principal holder of authority
34KS Application of div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
34KT Appointment of principal holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
34KU Effect of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Division 5--Death of authority holder
34KV Personal representative becomes the holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
CHAPTER 2D--GENERAL PROVISIONS ABOUT
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES
PART 1--INTEGRATED AUTHORITIES
34KW Integrated authority may be issued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
34KX Requirements for integrated authority application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
34KY IEMS submission--content requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
34KZ Requirements for integrated authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
34LA Effect of issue of integrated authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
PART 2--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
34LB Annual fee and return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
34LC Reference to environmental authority includes its conditions . . . . . 186
34LD Effect of Integrated Planning Act, s 6.1.44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
7 Omission of ch 3, pt 1 (Interpretation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
8 Omission of ch 3, pts 34C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
9 Amendment of s 72 (When environmental audit required) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
10 Amendment of s 73 (When environmental investigation required) . . . . . . . 187
16
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
11 Amendment of s 76 (Administering authority to consider and act
on environmental reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
12 Amendment of s 82 (Administering authority may require draft
program) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
13 Omission of s 86 (Administering authority may require additional
information) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
14 Amendment of s 94A (Application) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
15 Omission of s 96 (Compliance with program) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
16 Amendment of s 97 (Effect of compliance with program) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
17 Amendment of s 109 (When order may be issued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
18 Amendment of s 115 (When financial assurance may be required) . . . . . . 189
19 Amendment of s 116 (Person may show cause why financial
assurance should not be required) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
20 Amendment of s 117 (Application for amendment or discharge of
financial assurance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
21 Amendment of s 118 (Claims on financial assurances) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
22 Omission of s 118D (Meaning of "owner" for pt 9B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
23 Replacement of ch 3, pt 9B, div 5, sdiv 3 (Compliance with site
management plan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Subdivision 3--Restriction on local government approvals and
authorities
118ZY Approval or authority must not allow
contravention of site management plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
24 Amendment of s 118ZZF (Removal and disposal of contaminated soil) . . 193
25 Insertion of new s 118ZZG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
118ZZG Failure to comply with disposal permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
26 Replacement of ch 3, pt 10, hdg (Environmental offences) . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
CHAPTER 3A--GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES
PART 1--OFFENCES RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTALLY
RELEVANT ACTIVITIES
Division 1--Offences
118ZZH Environmental authority required for
level 1 environmentally relevant activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
118ZZI Environmental authority or
development approval required for level 2 environmentally
relevant activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
17
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
118ZZJ New approval required for certain
activities if significant change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Division 2--Exemptions
118ZZK Special provisions for interstate
transporters of controlled waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
PART 2--OFFENCES RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL
REQUIREMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS
Division 1--Environmental authorities
118ZZL Contravention of condition of
environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
118ZZM Environmental authority holder
responsible for ensuring conditions complied with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Division 2--Environmental management programs
118ZZN Contravention of program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
118ZZO Approval holder responsible for
ensuring program complied with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Division 3--Site management plans
118ZZP Contravention of plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Division 4--Development approvals
118ZZQ Offence to contravene development
condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
PART 3--OFFENCES RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL HARM
27 Amendment of s 119 (Unlawful environmental harm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
28 Insertion of new ch 3A, pt 3 hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
PART 4--OTHER OFFENCES
29 Amendment of s 135 (Entry of place) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
30 Amendment of s 136A (Entry of land--preliminary investigation) . . . . . . . 203
31 Insertion of new s 136B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
`136B Entry of land for access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
32 Amendment of s 138A (Order to enter land to conduct
investigation or conduct work) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
33 Amendment of s 180 (Evidentiary provisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
34 Amendment of s 181 (Special evidentiary
provision--environmental nuisance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
35 Amendment of s 188 (Notice of defence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
18
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
36 Replacement of s 198 (Delegation by chief executive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
198 Delegation by chief executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
198A Delegation by other administering executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
37 Amendment of s 200 (Dissatisfied person) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
38 Amendment of s 203 (Stay of operation of original decisions) . . . . . . . . . . 209
39 Replacement of ch 6, pt 3, div 3, hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Division 3--Appeals
Subdivision 1--Appeals to tribunal
203A Review decisions subject to tribunal appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
203B Right of appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
203C Appeal period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
203D Tribunal mediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
203E Nature of appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
203F Tribunal's powers for appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
203G Decision for appeals against refusals under s 34GW . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
203H Decision for other appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Subdivision 2--Appeals to Court
40 Amendment of s 204 (Who may appeal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
41 Replacement of s 213 (Registers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
213 Required registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
213A Keeping of registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
42 Amendment of s 214 (Inspection of register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
43 Insertion of new s 214A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
214A Appropriate fee for copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
44 Amendment of s 215 (Approved forms) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
45 Insertion of new ch 7, pt 1 hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
PART 1--APPROVAL OF CODES OF PRACTICE AND
STANDARD ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
46 Insertion of new ss 219AA219BE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
219AA Minister may approve standard
environmental conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
219AB Effect of changes to standard
environmental conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
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PART 2--GENERAL PROVISIONS ABOUT APPLICATIONS
AND SUBMISSIONS
Division 1--Preliminary
219AC Definitions for pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Division 2--General provisions
219AD What is the "application date" for
application or EMP submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
219AE Electronic applications and submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
219AF Electronic notices about
applications and submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
219AG Extension of decision period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
219AH Administering authority may seek
advice, comment or information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
219AI Decision criteria are not exhaustive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
219AJ Publication of decision or document by administering authority . . . 221
Division 3--Investigating suitability
219AK Investigation of applicant suitability
or disqualifying events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
219AL Use of information in suitability report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
219AM Notice of use of information in
suitability report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
219AN Confidentiality of suitability reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
219AO Destruction of suitability reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
PART 3--EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE
Division 1--Obtaining disclosure exemption
219AP Who may apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
219AQ Requirements for application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
219AR Deciding application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
219AS Criteria for decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
219AT Exemption may be limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
219AU Notice of refusal or decision to limit
exemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
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Division 2--Effects of disclosure exemption
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
219AV Application of div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
219AW Meaning of "exempted material" for div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Subdivision 2--Effects
219AX Effect on operation of disclosure
requirements under Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
219AY Effect on administering authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
219AZ Effect on officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
PART 4--ENTRY TO LAND TO COMPLY WITH
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENT
219BA Entry orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
219BB Procedure for entry under entry order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
219BC Duty to avoid damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
219BD Notice of damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
219BE Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
PART 5--REGULATIONS
47 Amendment of s 220 (Regulation-making power) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
48 Replacement of ch 8, hdg (Chapter 8--Repeals, savings,
transitional, validations and related provisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
CHAPTER 8--SAVINGS, TRANSITIONAL AND RELATED
PROVISIONS
49 Omission of ch 8, pt 1 (Repeals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
50 Replacement of ch 8, pt 2, hdg (Savings and transitional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
PART 1--PROVISIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1997
51 Omission of ss 235 and 236 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
52 Insertion of new ch 8, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
PART 2--PROVISIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 2000
Division 1--Preliminary
239 Definitions for pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
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Division 2--Existing environmental authorities and mining activities
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
240 What is a "condition" of a mining tenement for div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Subdivision 2--Existing authorities for mining activities
241 Existing authority becomes an environmental authority
(mining activities) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
242 Conditions of environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Subdivision 3--Existing mining activities without
environmental authority
243 New environmental authority (mining activities) for
existing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
244 Conditions of environmental authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Division 3--Unfinished applications
245 Procedure if certificate of application issued and
conditions decided . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
246 Procedure for other unfinished applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Division 4--Transitional authorities for mining activities
Subdivision 1--Preliminary
247 Meaning of "transitional authority" for div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Subdivision 2--Special provisions for transitional authorities
248 Transitional authority taken to be non-standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
249 Limited application of s 118ZZI for transitional authority . . . . . . . . 241
250 Requirement to apply to amend or surrender transitional
authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
251 Notice by administering authority to amend or surrender
transitional authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
252 Consequences of failure to comply with reminder notice . . . . . . . . 243
253 Financial assurance for transitional authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
254 Effect of financial assurance on security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
255 Plan of operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
256 Annual fee and return for first year of transitional period . . . . . . . . . 246
257 Anniversary day for certain transitional authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Subdivision 3--Amendment and consolidation of transitional authorities
258 Conversion to standard authority by application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
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259 Other amendment applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
260 Additional grounds for amendment by administering authority . . . . 249
261 Ministerial power to amend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
262 Consolidation of conditions for same mining project . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Subdivision 4--Environmental management document requirements
263 Environmental management document may be required . . . . . . . . . 252
264 Consequence of failure to comply with requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Division 5--Transitional provisions other than for mining activities
265 Unfinished applications under existing Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
266 Environmental authorities under existing Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Division 6--Miscellaneous provisions
267 Requirement to seek advice from MRA chief executive . . . . . . . . . 255
268 Existing Act continues to apply for special agreement Acts . . . . . . 255
269 Transitional regulation-making power for pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
270 Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
271 Numbering and renumbering of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
53 Replacement of sch 1 (Original decisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
SCHEDULE 1
ORIGINAL DECISIONS
54 Omission of sch 2 (Acts repealed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
55 Amendment of sch 3 (Notifiable activities) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
56 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF INTEGRATED PLANNING ACT
1997
57 Act amended in pt 3 and schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
58 Amendment of s 2.6.8 (Minister may proceed straight to
designation in certain circumstances) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
59 Amendment of sch 8 (Assessable, self-assessable and exempt
development) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
PART 4--AMENDMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES ACT 1989
60 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
61 Amendment of s 5 (Definitions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
62 Omission of s 6 (Meaning of "contaminated land") . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
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63 Insertion of new s 6C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
6C What is carrying out "improvement restoration" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
64 Amendment of s 21 (Application for prospecting permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
65 Amendment of s 22 (Reasons for rejection of application to be given) . . . 285
66 Amendment of s 25 (Conditions of prospecting permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
67 Amendment of s 26 (Provision of security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
68 Amendment of s 31 (Mining registrar to notify owners of
occupied land of grant of parcel prospecting permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
69 Amendment of s 37 (Surrender of prospecting permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
70 Omission of s 45 (Holder of prospecting permit to rehabilitate land) . . . . . 286
71 Amendment of s 47 (Staying on occupied land) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
72 Amendment of s 50 (Entitlements under mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
73 Amendment of s 61 (Application for grant of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
74 Amendment of s 64 (Certificate of application etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
75 Insertion of new ss 64A64D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
64A Issue of certificate of public notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
64B Applicant's obligations for certificate of public notice . . . . . . . . . . 289
64C Declaration of compliance with obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
64D Continuing obligation to notify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
76 Amendment of s 72 (Mining registrar to fix hearing date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
77 Amendment of s 73 (Rejection of application for grant of mining
claim for noncompliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
78 Amendment of s 74 (Grant of mining claim to which no objection
is lodged) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
79 Amendment of s 75 (Mining registrar may refer application for
grant of mining claim to tribunal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
80 Amendment of s 76 (Reference of application to tribunal if
consent of reserve's owner is not given) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
81 Amendment of s 80 (Grant of mining claim at instruction of
tribunal or with consent of Governor in Council) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
82 Amendment of s 81 (Conditions of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
83 Amendment of s 82 (Variation of conditions of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . 293
84 Amendment of s 83 (Provision of security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
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85 Amendment of s 89 (Reasons for rejection of application for grant
of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
86 Amendment of s 93 (Renewal of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
87 Amendment of s 94 (Reasons for rejection of application for
renewal of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
88 Amendment of s 96 (Assignment etc. of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
89 Amendment of s 105 (Mining other minerals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
90 Amendment of s 106 (Contravention by holder of mining claim) . . . . . . . . 296
91 Amendment of s 107 (Surrender of mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
92 Amendment of s 108 (Abandonment of application for mining claim) . . . . 297
93 Amendment of s 109 (Rehabilitation of land covered by mining claim) . . 297
94 Amendment of s 116 (Appeals about mining claim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
95 Amendment of s 123 (Property remaining on former mining claim
may be sold etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
96 Amendment of s 129 (Entitlements under exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . 298
97 Amendment of s 133 (Application for exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
98 Amendment of s 137 (Grant of exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
99 Amendment of s 139 (Periodic reduction in land covered by
exploration permit for mineral other than coal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
100 Amendment of s 140 (Periodic reduction in land covered by
exploration permit for coal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
101 Amendment of s 141 (Conditions of exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
102 Omission of ss 142 and 143 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
103 Amendment of s 144 (Provision of security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
104 Amendment of s 147 (Renewal of exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
105 Amendment of s 151 (Assignment of exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
106 Amendment of s 159 (Abandonment of application for exploration
permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
107 Amendment of s 160 (Contravention by holder of exploration permit) . . . . 302
108 Amendment of s 161 (Surrender of exploration permit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
109 Omission of s 165 (Holder of exploration permit to rehabilitate land) . . . . 303
110 Amendment of s 166 (Rehabilitation of land covered by
exploration permits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
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111 Amendment of s 181 (Obligations and entitlements under mineral
development licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
112 Amendment of s 183 (Application for mineral development licence) . . . . 304
113 Amendment of s 186 (Minister may grant or reject application for
mineral development licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
114 Amendment of s 189 (Abandonment of application for mineral
development licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
115 Amendment of s 190 (Provision of security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
116 Amendment of s 194 (Conditions of mineral development licence) . . . . . . 305
117 Omission of ss 195 and 196 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
118 Amendment of s 197 (Renewal of mineral development licence) . . . . . . . 306
119 Amendment of s 198 (Assignment etc. of mineral development
licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
120 Amendment of s 208 (Adding other minerals to licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
121 Amendment of s 209 (Contravention by holder of mineral
development licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
122 Amendment of s 210 (Surrender of mineral development licence) . . . . . . . 307
123 Omission of s 213 (Holder of mineral development licence to
rehabilitate land) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
124 Amendment of s 214 (Rehabilitation of land covered by mineral
development licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
125 Amendment of s 230 (Plant remaining on former mineral
development licence may be sold etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
126 Amendment of s 234 (Governor in Council may grant mining lease) . . . . . 309
127 Amendment of s 235 (Entitlements of holder of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . 310
128 Amendment of s 236 (Entitlement to use sand, gravel and rock) . . . . . . . . 310
129 Amendment of s 237 (Drilling and other activities on land not
included in surface area) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
130 Amendment of s 245 (Application for grant of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . 311
131 Amendment of s 250 (Rejection of application by mining registrar) . . . . . 311
132 Amendment of s 252 (Certificate of application etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
133 Insertion of new ss 252A252D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
252A Issue of certificate of public notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
252B Applicant's obligations for certificate of public notice . . . . . . . . . . 314
252C Declaration of compliance with obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
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Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
252D Continuing obligation to notify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
134 Amendment of s 253 (Reissue of certificate of application) . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
135 Amendment of s 260 (Objection to application for grant of mining
lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
136 Omission of ss 261264 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
137 Amendment of s 265 (Mining registrar to fix hearing date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
138 Amendment of s 267 (Minister may reject application at any time) . . . . . 317
139 Amendment of s 268 (Hearing of application for grant of mining lease) . . 317
140 Omission of s 270A (Minister to approve environmental
management overview strategy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
141 Amendment of s 271 (Minister to consider recommendation made
in respect of application for grant of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
142 Amendment of s 272 (Minister may remit to tribunal for
additional evidence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
143 Amendment of s 275 (Application for inclusion of surface of land
in mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
144 Amendment of s 276 (Conditions of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
145 Amendment of s 277 (Provision of security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
146 Insertion of new ss 283A and 283B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
283A Agreement to amend compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
283B Review of compensation by tribunal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
147 Amendment of s 286 (Renewal of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
148 Replacement of s 287 (Reasons for rejection of application for
renewal of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
287 Notice of rejection of renewal application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
149 Omission of ss 291293 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
150 Amendment of s 294 (Variation of conditions of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . 322
151 Amendment of s 298 (Mining other minerals or use for other purposes) . . 323
152 Amendment of s 299 (Consolidation of mining leases) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
153 Amendment of s 300 (Assignment etc. of mining lease or
application therefor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
154 Amendment of s 307 (Abandonment of application for the grant
of a mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
155 Amendment of s 308 (Contravention by holder of mining lease) . . . . . . . . 325
27
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
156 Amendment of s 309 (Surrender of mining lease) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
157 Amendment of s 314 (Property remaining on former mining lease
may be sold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
158 Amendment of s 315 (Approval of additional activities upon
mining lease application) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
159 Amendment of s 318 (Rehabilitation of land covered by mining lease) . . 328
161 Amendment of s 343 (Seizure of minerals produced by or
vehicles, machinery etc. used in unauthorised mining) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
162 Amendment of s 363 (Substantive jurisdiction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
163 Insertion of new s 391A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
391A Restriction on decisions or recommendations about mining
tenements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
164 Amendment of s 416A (Approval of forms) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
165 Amendment of s 417 (Regulations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
166 Amendment of s 669 (Referral of proposed mining lease to tribunal) . . . . 331
167 Insertion of new pt 19, div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Division 3--Transitional provisions for Environmental Protection
and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2000
735 Existing Act continues to apply for special agreement Acts . . . . . . 331
736 Amendment of EMOS after grant of particular mining
leases and before amending Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
168 Insertion of schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
SCHEDULE
DICTIONARY
PART 5--AMENDMENT OF NATURE CONSERVATION ACT
1992
169 Act amended in pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
170 Amendment of s 39B (Chief executive may require EIS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
PART 6--AMENDMENT OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
ACT 1994
171 Act amended in pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
172 Amendment of s 233 (Continuation of certain by-laws and
provisions of Harbours Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
173 Amendment of s 236 (Continuation of certain provisions of
Harbours Act requiring approval for certain matters) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
28
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
PART 7--MINOR AMENDMENTS OF ACTS
174 Acts amended in schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
MINOR AMENDMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
INTEGRATED PLANNING ACT 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
MINERAL RESOURCES ACT 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
2000
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and the
Mineral Resources Act 1989, and for other purposes
s1 30 s2
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
ART 1--PRELIMINARY 2
P
title 3
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Environmental Protection and Other 4
Legislation Amendment Act 2000. 5
6
Commencement
Clause 2.(1) The following provisions commence on assent-- 7
(a) section 46, to the extent it inserts the Environmental Protection 8
Act 1994, section 219AA; 9
(b) section 47; 10
(c) section 56; 11
(d) section 146; 12
(e) section 167, to the extent it inserts the Mineral Resources Act 13
1989, part 19, division 3, heading, and section 736.1 14
(2) The remaining provisions of this Act commence on a day to be fixed 15
by proclamation. 16
1 Sections 46 (Insertion of new ss 219AA219BE), 47 (Amendment of s 220
(Regulation-making power)), 56 (Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary)),
146 (Insertion of new ss 283A and 283B) and 167 (Insertion of new pt 19, div 3)
s3 31 s4
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 1
PROTECTION ACT 1994 2
amended in pt 2 and schedule 3
Act
Clause 3.(1) This part amends the Environmental Protection Act 1994. 4
(2) The schedule also includes amendments of the Environmental 5
Protection Act 1994. 6
of new ch 1, pt 3, div 2, sdiv 3A 7
Insertion
Clause 4. After section 17-- 8
insert-- 9
`Subdivision 3A--Environmentally relevant activities 10
of "environmentally relevant activity" 11
`Meaning
`17A. An "environmentally relevant activity" means-- 12
(a) a mining activity;2 or 13
(b) another activity prescribed under section 17B as an 14
environmentally relevant activity. 15
relevant activity may be prescribed 16
`Environmentally
`17B. A regulation may prescribe an activity, other than a mining activity, 17
as an environmentally relevant activity if the Governor in Council is 18
satisfied-- 19
(a) a contaminant will or may be released into the environment when 20
the activity is carried out; and 21
(b) the release of the contaminant will or may cause environmental 22
harm. 23
2 See section 34EO (What is a "mining activity").
s5 32 s5
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
for environmentally relevant activities 1
`Levels
`17C.(1) An environmentally relevant activity, other than a mining 2
activity, must be prescribed under a regulation as a level 1 or level 2 3
environmentally relevant activity, depending on the risk of environmental 4
harm. 5
`(2) A standard mining activity is a level 2 environmentally relevant 6
activity. 7
`(3) A mining activity other than standard mining activity is a level 1 8
environmentally relevant activity.'. 9
of s 20 (Effect of Act on other Acts) 10
Replacement
Clause 5. Section 20-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
with other Acts 13
`Relationship
`20.(1) This Act is in addition to, and does not limit, any other Act. 14
`(2) If this Act conflicts with an Act as follows, that Act prevails, but 15
only to the extent of the conflict-- 16
· Ambulance Service Act 1991 17
· Fire and Rescue Authority Act 1990 18
· Radiation Safety Act 1999 19
· State Counter-Disaster Organisation Act 1975 20
· Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995.'. 21
s6 33 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
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of new chs 2A2D 1
Insertion
Clause 6. After chapter 2-- 2
insert-- 3
HAPTER 2A--ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 4
`C
STATEMENTS 5
`PART 1--EIS PROCESS 6
`Division 1--Preliminary 7
1--Application 8
`Subdivision
EIS process applies 9
`When
`34.(1) This part applies for a project if-- 10
(a) an EIS requirement is in force in relation to an application for an 11
environmental authority (mining activities) and a relevant mining 12
activity for the application is, or is part of, the project; or 13
(b) an EIS has been required for the project under an Act as follows 14
for which it has, under the Act, been decided or required that this 15
part applies to the preparation of the EIS-- 16
(i) the Commonwealth Environment Act; 17
(ii) the State Development Act;3 18
(iii) another State Act or another Commonwealth Act; or 19
(c) the voluntary preparation of an EIS for the project has been 20
approved under part 2;4 or 21
3 See the State Development Act, part 4, divisions 2 (Significant project)
and 3 (EIS process).
4 Part 2 (Voluntary preparation of EIS)
s6 34 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(d) the project is of a type prescribed under a regulation for which 1
approval by a Commonwealth or State authority is required. 2
`(2) However, an EIS under this Act can not be used for making a 3
decision under the Integrated Planning Act, other than a decision in relation 4
to a project mentioned in subsection (1)(a). 5
`(3) In this section-- 6
"authority", for the Commonwealth, includes the Minister of the 7
Commonwealth for the time being administering the Commonwealth 8
Environment Act. 9
"EIS" includes a statement, however called, that is similar to an EIS. 10
"project" includes-- 11
(a) a development or proposed development; and 12
(b) an action or proposed action; and 13
(c) a plan or policy. 14
2--Definitions for pt 1 15
`Subdivision
is an "affected person" for a project 16
`Who
`34AA.(1) A person is an "affected person" for a project if the person 17
is-- 18
(a) a person mentioned in subsection (2) for the operational land or 19
any land joining it; or 20
(b) any of the following under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth) for 21
the operational land or for an area that includes any of the land-- 22
(i) a registered native title body corporate; 23
(ii) a registered native title claimant; 24
(iii) a representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander body; or 25
(c) a relevant local government for the operational land. 26
`(2) For subsection (1)(a), the persons are as follows-- 27
s6 35 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(a) for freehold land--a registered proprietor; 1
(b) for land that is held from the State for an estate or interest less 2
than fee simple and for which the interest is recorded in a register 3
mentioned in the Land Act 1994 ("Land Act"), section 2765--a 4
person recorded in the register as the registered holder of the 5
interest; 6
(c) for land subject to a mining claim, mineral development licence or 7
mining lease--a holder of, or an applicant for, the tenement; 8
(d) for land subject to an authority to prospect or a lease or licence 9
under the Petroleum Act 1923-- 10
(i) a holder of the authority; or 11
(ii) a lessee under the lease; or 12
(iii) a licensee under the licence; 13
(e) for land under the Land Act or the Nature Conservation Act 1992 14
("NCA") for which there are trustees--a trustee of the land; 15
(f) for Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 16
("ALA") that is taken to be a reserve because of section 87(2) 17
or 87(4)(b)6 of that Act--a grantee of the land; 18
(g) for DOGIT land under the ALA or the Torres Strait Islander 19
Land Act 1991--a trustee for the land; 20
(h) for land held under a lease under the Local Government 21
(Aboriginal Lands) Act 1978, section 67 --a relevant local 22
government; 23
(i) for Torres Strait Islander land under the Torres Strait Islander 24
Land Act 1991 that is taken to be a reserve because of 25
section 84(2) or 84(4)(b)8 of that Act--a grantee of the land; 26
5 Land Act 1994, section 276 (Registers to be kept by chief executive)
6 Aboriginal Land Act 1991, section 87 (Application of Mineral Resources Act)
7 Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act 1978, section 6 (Grant of leases to
councils)
8 Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991, section 84 (Application of Mineral
Resources Act)
s6 36 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(j) for land under a lease from the State under the Aborigines and 1
Torres Strait Islanders (Land Holding) Act 1985 that has been 2
excised from land granted in trust for Aboriginal or Torres Strait 3
Islander purposes under the Land Act--a trustee of the land; 4
(k) for land that is any of the following, the State-- 5
(i) unallocated State land; 6
(ii) a reserve under the Land Act for which there is no trustee; 7
(iii) a national park, national park (Aboriginal land), national park 8
(scientific), national park (Torres Strait Islander land), 9
national park (recovery) or forest reserve under the NCA; 10
(iv) a conservation park under the NCA for which there are no 11
trustees; 12
(v) a State forest or timber reserve under the Forestry Act 1959; 13
(vi) a State controlled road under the Transport Infrastructure 14
Act 1994; 15
(vii) a fish habitat area under the Fisheries Act 1994. 16
(l) another person prescribed under a regulation. 17
definitions 18
`Other
`34AB. In this part-- 19
"business days" does not include a business day between 20 December 20
and 5 January in the following year. 21
"comment period", for an EIS, means the comment period for the EIS 22
under section 34AE(2)(e) and (3) or section 34BF(3)(b)(i). 23
"draft terms of reference", for an EIS, means draft terms of reference 24
submitted under section 34AD. 25
"environmental management plan" means-- 26
(a) an environmental management document; or 27
(b) another document, however called, that proposes conditions and 28
mechanisms to manage the potential environmental impact of the 29
s6 37 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
project. 1
"final terms of reference", for an EIS, means the final terms of reference 2
for the EIS published under section 34AI. 3
"interested person" means an interested person proposed by the proponent 4
under section 34AD(3)(b). 5
"operational land" means the land on which the project is to be carried 6
out. 7
"person" includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or 8
unincorporated. 9
"properly made submission" see section 34AR(2). 10
"proponent" means the person who proposes the project to which this part 11
applies. 12
"submission period", for an EIS, means-- 13
(a) the submission period for the EIS under section 34AO(1)(e) 14
and (2); or 15
(b) if section 34BF applies--any new submission period fixed under 16
section 34BF(3)(b)(ii). 17
`Subdivision 3--Purposes of EIS 18
urposes 19
`P
`34AC. The purposes of an EIS are as follows-- 20
(a) to assess-- 21
(i) the potential adverse and beneficial environmental, economic 22
and social impacts of the project; and 23
(ii) management, monitoring, planning and other measures 24
proposed to minimise any adverse environmental impacts of 25
the project; 26
(b) to consider feasible alternative ways to carry out the project; 27
(c) to give enough information about the matters mentioned in 28
s6 38 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
paragraphs (a) and (b) to the proponent, Commonwealth and 1
State authorities and the public; 2
(d) to prepare or propose an environmental management plan for the 3
project; 4
(e) to help the administering authority decide an environmental 5
authority application for which the EIS is required; 6
(f) to give information to other Commonwealth and State authorities 7
to help them make informed decisions; 8
(g) to meet any assessment requirements under-- 9
(i) the Commonwealth Environment Act for a project that is, or 10
includes, a controlled action under that Act; or 11
(ii) a bilateral agreement;9 12
(h) to allow the State to meet its obligations under a bilateral 13
agreement. 14
2--Terms of reference stage 15
`Division
1--Draft terms of reference 16
`Subdivision
ubmission 17
`S
`34AD.(1) The proponent must submit to the chief executive draft terms 18
of reference for the EIS that allow the purposes of the EIS to be achieved 19
for the project. 20
`(2) The submitted draft must-- 21
(a) be in the approved form; and 22
9 For what is a "controlled action" under the Commonwealth Environment Act,
see section 67 (What is a controlled action?) of that Act.
For assessment requirements of controlled actions, see the Commonwealth
Environment Act, chapter 4, part 8 (Assessing impacts of controlled actions).
For bilateral agreements, see the Commonwealth Environment Act, chapter 3
(Bilateral agreements).
s6 39 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(b) be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation; and 1
(c) include any matter prescribed under a regulation. 2
`(3) Also, if an approval has not been given under part 2 10 for the project, 3
the submitted draft must be accompanied by the following-- 4
(a) a written description of the project and the operational land; 5
(b) a list stating the name and address of each person the proponent 6
proposes as an interested person for the project; 7
(c) a statement of how the proponent proposes to consult with the 8
interested persons; 9
(d) a list of the names and addresses of the affected persons for the 10
project. 11
2--Public notification of draft terms of reference 12
`Subdivision
of TOR notice 13
`Preparation
`34AE.(1) The chief executive must, within 15 business days after the 14
draft terms of reference are submitted, give the proponent written notice 15
about the draft (the "TOR notice") for public notification. 16
`(2) The notice must state the following-- 17
(a) a description of the project and the operational land; 18
(b) that the proponent has prepared draft terms of reference for the 19
EIS; 20
(c) where or how the draft may be obtained;11 21
(d) that anyone may make written comments to the chief executive 22
about the draft; 23
(e) a period decided by the chief executive (the "comment period") 24
during which comments may be made; 25
10 Part 2 (Voluntary preparation of EIS)
11 See section 34BC (Public access to draft terms of reference or submitted EIS).
s6 40 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(f) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 1
`(3) The comment period must not end before 30 business days after the 2
notice is published. 3
notification 4
`Public
`34AF.(1) The chief executive must publish the TOR notice within 5
5 business days after giving it to the proponent.12 6
`(2) The proponent must, if asked by the chief executive, pay the chief 7
executive's reasonable costs incurred in publishing the notice. 8
`(3) The proponent must, within the 5 business days, give a copy of the 9
notice to-- 10
(a) each affected person for the project; and 11
(b) each interested person; and 12
(c) any other person decided by the chief executive. 13
`(4) The chief executive may decide another person for subsection (3)(c) 14
only by giving the proponent an information notice about the decision 15
before the notice is published. 16
to be given comments 17
`Proponent
`34AG. The chief executive must, within 10 business days after the 18
comment period ends, give the proponent a copy of all comments received 19
by the chief executive within the period. 20
to chief executive 21
`Advice
`34AH. The proponent must, within the period prescribed under a 22
regulation, give the chief executive-- 23
(a) a written summary of the comments; and 24
(b) a statement of the proponent's response to the comments; and 25
12 See section 219AJ (Publication of decision or document by administering
authority).
s6 41 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(c) any amendments of the draft terms of reference the proponent 1
proposes because of the comments. 2
3--Final terms of reference 3
`Subdivision
terms of reference 4
`Finalising
`34AI.(1) The chief executive must, within the period prescribed under a 5
regulation, do the following-- 6
(a) consider the documents mentioned in section 34AH; 7
(b) prepare the final terms of reference; 8
(c) give the proponent a copy of the final terms of reference; 9
(d) publish the final terms of reference. 10
`(2) The proponent must, if asked by the chief executive, pay the chief 11
executive's reasonable costs incurred in publishing the final terms of 12
reference. 13
3--Submission stage 14
`Division
EIS may be submitted 15
`When
`34AJ.(1) The proponent may submit the EIS to the chief executive only 16
within-- 17
(a) 2 years after the final terms of reference are given to the 18
proponent; or 19
(b) any longer period decided by the chief executive before or after 20
the 2 years ends. 21
`(2) If an EIS is not submitted under subsection (1)-- 22
(a) the final terms of reference cease to have effect; and 23
s6 42 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
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(b) division 213 must be complied with again before the EIS may be 1
submitted. 2
executive may require copies of EIS 3
`Chief
`34AK.(1) The chief executive may, at any time before the submission 4
period ends, by written notice require the proponent to give the chief 5
executive a stated number of copies of the submitted EIS that the chief 6
executive reasonably requires. 7
`(2) The notice may require-- 8
(a) the copies to be in hard copy form or in an electronic form or 9
forms; and 10
(b) a stated part of the stated number to be given in hard copy form 11
and a stated part of the number to be given in an electronic form 12
or forms. 13
on whether EIS may proceed 14
`Decision
`34AL.(1) The chief executive must, within the period prescribed under a 15
regulation, consider the submitted EIS and decide whether to allow it to 16
proceed under divisions 4 to 6.14 17
`(2) The chief executive may allow the EIS to proceed only if the chief 18
executive considers it addresses the final terms of reference in an acceptable 19
form. 20
`(3) If the decision is to allow the EIS to proceed, the chief executive may 21
also fix the submission period for the EIS. 22
`(4) However, the period fixed must be at least 20 business days and 23
must end at least 20 business days after the EIS notice is published. 24
`(5) The chief executive must, within 10 business days after the decision 25
is made, give the proponent written notice of the decision and of any 26
13 Division 2 (Terms of reference stage)
14 Divisions 4 (Notification stage), 5 (EIS assessment report) and 6 (Completion of
process)
s6 43 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
submission period fixed. 1
`(6) If the decision is to refuse to allow the EIS to proceed, the notice 2
must also state-- 3
(a) the reasons for the decision; and 4
(b) that the proponent may, under section 34AM, apply to the 5
Minister to review the decision; and 6
(c) how to apply for a review. 7
review of refusal to allow to proceed 8
`Ministerial
`34AM.(1) If the chief executive decides to refuse to allow the EIS to 9
proceed, the proponent may, by written notice, apply to the Minister to 10
review the decision. 11
`(2) The notice must-- 12
(a) state why the proponent considers the EIS should be allowed to 13
proceed; and 14
(b) be given within 10 business days after the proponent receives a 15
notice under section 34AL(6) about the decision. 16
`(3) However, the Minister may, at any time, extend the time for giving 17
the notice. 18
`(4) In reviewing the decision, the Minister-- 19
(a) has the same powers as the chief executive; and 20
(b) may confirm the chief executive's decision or decide to allow the 21
EIS to proceed under divisions 4 to 6. 22
`(5) If the Minister decides to allow the EIS to proceed, the decision is 23
taken for this part to be the chief executive's decision. 24
`(6) If the Minister decides to confirm the chief executive's decision-- 25
(a) the decision is taken for this part, other than for section 34AL(6) 26
and this section, to be the chief executive's decision; and 27
s6 44 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
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(b) the chief executive must, within 10 business days after the 1
decision is made, give the proponent written notice of the decision 2
and the reasons for it. 3
`Division 4--Notification stage 4
`Subdivision 1--Public notice requirements 5
notification 6
`Public
`34AN.(1) This section applies if the chief executive has given the 7
proponent a notice, under section 34AL(5), that the EIS may proceed under 8
this division and divisions 5 and 6.15 9
`(2) Within 20 business days after the giving of the notice, the proponent 10
must-- 11
(a) give written notice about the EIS (the "EIS notice") to-- 12
(i) each affected person for the project; and 13
(ii) each interested person; and 14
(iii) any other person decided by the chief executive; and 15
(b) publish the EIS notice-- 16
(i) at least once in a newspaper circulating in the locality of the 17
operational land; and 18
(ii) in another way prescribed under a regulation or decided by 19
the chief executive. 20
15 Divisions 5 (EIS assessment report) and 6 (Completion of process)
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`(3) The chief executive may decide another person for 1
subsection (2)(a)(iii) or another way of publishing the EIS notice for 2
subsection (2)(b)(ii) only by giving the proponent an information notice 3
about the decision before the notice is published. 4
`(4) This section is subject to section 34BF.16 5
content of EIS notice 6
`Required
`34AO.(1) The EIS notice must be in the approved form and state the 7
following-- 8
(a) a description of the project and the operational land; 9
(b) where the submitted EIS may be inspected;17 10
(c) where copies of, or extracts from, the submitted EIS may be 11
obtained;18 12
(d) that anyone may make a submission to the chief executive about 13
the submitted EIS; 14
(e) the period (the "submission period") during which submissions 15
may be made; 16
(f) how to make a properly made submission; 17
(g) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 18
`(2) The submission period must be at least 20 business days and must 19
end after the later of the following to end-- 20
(a) any submission period fixed by the chief executive under 21
section 34AL(3) before the notice is published under 22
section 34AN(2)(b); 23
(b) 20 business days after the publication. 24
16 Section 34BF (Substantial compliance with notice requirements may be
accepted)
17 See sections 34BC (Public access to draft terms of reference or submitted EIS),
213 (Required registers) and 214 (Inspection of register).
18 See sections 213 (Required registers) and 214 (Inspection of register).
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of compliance 1
`Declaration
`34AP.(1) The proponent must, within 10 business days after the EIS 2
notice is published, give the chief executive a statutory declaration 3
declaring-- 4
(a) whether or not the proponent has complied with the notice 5
requirements under sections 34AN and 34AO; and 6
(b) the name and address of each person to whom the EIS notice was 7
given under section 34AN. 8
`(2) A copy of the EIS notice must be attached to the declaration. 9
`(3) The proponent is taken to have complied with the requirements if-- 10
(a) a declaration is given under this section; and 11
(b) the declaration states the proponent has complied with the notice 12
requirements.19 13
2--Submissions 14
`Subdivision
to make submission 15
`Right
`34AQ. A person may, within the submission period, make a 16
submission to the chief executive about the submitted EIS. 17
of submissions 18
`Acceptance
`34AR.(1) The chief executive must accept a submission if it-- 19
(a) is written; and 20
(b) is signed by or for each person ("signatory") who made the 21
submission; and 22
(c) states the name and address of each signatory; and 23
19 For what happens if the declaration states the requirements have not been
complied with, see section 34BF (Substantial compliance with notice
requirements may be accepted).
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(d) is made to the chief executive; and 1
(e) is received on or before the last day of the submission period. 2
`(2) A submission that complies with subsection (1) is called a 3
"properly made submission". 4
`(3) The chief executive may accept a written submission even if it is not 5
a properly made submission. 6
esponse to submissions 7
`R
`34AS.(1) The chief executive must, within 10 business days after the 8
submission period ends, give the proponent a copy of all submissions 9
accepted by the chief executive. 10
`(2) The proponent must, within the relevant period, consider the 11
submissions and give the chief executive-- 12
(a) a summary of the submissions; and 13
(b) a statement of the proponent's response to the submissions; and 14
(c) any amendments of the submitted EIS because of the 15
submissions. 16
`(3) In this section-- 17
"relevant period" means the later of the following periods to end-- 18
(a) 20 business days after the proponent is given a copy of all 19
submissions accepted by the chief executive; 20
(b) if the chief executive and the proponent have, within the 21
20 business days, agreed to a longer period--the longer period. 22
`Division 5--EIS assessment report 23
assessment report 24
`EIS
`34AT. The chief executive must give the proponent a report (an "EIS 25
assessment report") about the submitted EIS-- 26
(a) if no EIS amendment notice is given for the EIS within 27
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30 business days after the submission period ends--10 business 1
days after the end of the 30 days; or 2
(b) if an EIS amendment notice is given for the EIS within the 3
30 business days--within 30 business days after the notice is 4
given; or 5
(c) if the chief executive and the proponent have, within the 6
30 business days, agreed to a longer period--the longer period.20 7
for preparing report 8
`Criteria
`34AU. In preparing an EIS assessment report, the chief executive must 9
consider the following-- 10
(a) the final terms of reference for the EIS; 11
(b) the submitted EIS; 12
(c) all properly made submissions and any other submissions 13
accepted by the chief executive; 14
(d) the standard criteria; 15
(e) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 16
content of report 17
`Required
`34AV. An EIS assessment report must-- 18
(a) address the adequacy of the EIS in addressing the final terms of 19
reference; and 20
(b) address the adequacy of any environmental management plan for 21
the project; and 22
(c) make recommendations about the suitability of the project; and 23
20 For public inspection of the EIS assessment report, see sections 213 (Required
registers) and 214 (Inspection of register).
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(d) recommend any conditions on which any approval required for 1
the project may be given; and 2
(e) contain another matter prescribed under a regulation. 3
`Division 6--Completion of process 4
process is completed 5
`When
`34AW.(1) The process under this part is completed for an EIS when the 6
proponent is given an EIS assessment report for the EIS. 7
`(2) Also, the process is taken to have been completed if-- 8
(a) an EIS or a similar statement, however called, has been-- 9
(i) finalised under the Commonwealth Environment Act, 10
section 104(1);21 or 11
(ii) completed under another Commonwealth Act or a State Act; 12
and 13
(b) the chief executive decides the process under this part has been 14
complied with, or substantially complied with, for the EIS or 15
statement. 16
7--Miscellaneous provisions 17
`Division
1--Inquiries by chief executive 18
`Subdivision
of sdiv 1 19
`Application
`34AX. This subdivision applies during-- 20
21 The Commonwealth Environment Act, section 104 (Finalising draft
environmental impact statement)
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(a) any stage under divisions 2 to 6;22 and 1
(b) the taking of a step or the making of a decision within any stage 2
under divisions 2 to 6. 3
4
Examples of when subdivision applies--
5
1. When the chief executive is preparing the final terms of reference.
6
2. When the proponent is preparing the EIS.
7
3. When the administering authority is preparing an EIS assessment report.
executive may seek advice, comment or information 8
`Chief
`34AY.(1) The chief executive may seek and consider relevant advice, 9
comment or information from the proponent or another person. 10
`(2) The request may be by public notice. 11
of relevant documents or information 12
`Disclosure
`34AZ. The chief executive may give anyone a document or information 13
if it-- 14
(a) is mentioned in this part, required to be given to the chief 15
executive under this part or relates to the project or to the process 16
under this part; and 17
(b) is not subject to a disclosure exemption. 18
does not alter process 19
`Inquiry
`34BA. Asking for and receiving, or giving, a document or advice, 20
comment or information under this subdivision does not-- 21
(a) replace any public notice or other stage or step required under 22
divisions 2 to 6; or 23
(b) extend or reduce the period required to take a step or make a 24
decision under divisions 2 to 6. 25
22 Divisions 2 (Terms of reference stage), 3 (Submission stage), 4 (Notification
stage), 5 (EIS assessment report) and 6 (Completion of process)
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`Subdivision 2--Public inspection 1
access to draft terms of reference or submitted EIS 2
`Public
`34BC. If a person asks the proponent for a copy of the draft terms of 3
reference for an EIS or the submitted EIS, the proponent must, on payment 4
of the appropriate fee to the proponent, give the person the copy.23 5
`Subdivision 3--Amending EIS 6
mending EIS 7
`A
`34BD.(1) The proponent may amend or replace the submitted EIS (the 8
"original EIS")-- 9
(a) for an EIS for an environmental authority (mining activities) 10
application--at any time before the chief executive gives a draft 11
environmental authority for the application;24 or 12
(b) otherwise--at any time before the EIS assessment report is given 13
to the proponent. 14
`(2) However, the submitted EIS can not be amended during the 15
submission period for the EIS. 16
`(3) Also, an amendment may be made only by giving the chief 17
executive written notice of the amendment (an "EIS amendment notice"). 18
`(4) An EIS amendment notice must be accompanied by the fee 19
prescribed under a regulation. 20
`(5) The submitted EIS is taken to be the original EIS, as amended from 21
time to time by an EIS amendment notice given for the original EIS. 22
23 See also sections 213 (Required registers) and 214 (Inspection of register).
For the appropriate fee, see section 214A (Appropriate fee for copies).
24 See chapter 2C, part 6, division 5 (Draft environmental authority stage).
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4--Effects of noncompliance with process 1
`Subdivision
rocess is suspended 2
`P
`34BE.(1) This section applies if the proponent-- 3
(a) does not comply with a requirement of this part for an EIS; or 4
(b) becomes entitled to take the next step under the process under this 5
part and has not taken the step. 6
`(2) The following are suspended until the requirement is complied with 7
or the step is taken-- 8
(a) the process under this part for the EIS; 9
(b) any obligations of the chief executive under this part for the EIS. 10
`(3) The proponent's draft terms of reference or submitted EIS lapse on 11
the later of the following days if the requirement has not been complied with 12
or the step has not been taken-- 13
(a) the first anniversary of the suspension; 14
(b) if the chief executive and the proponent have, before the first 15
anniversary, agreed to a later day--the later day. 16
`(4) This section is subject to sections 34AJ and 34BF. 17
compliance with notice requirements may be accepted 18
`Substantial
`34BF.(1) If the proponent has not complied with the notice 19
requirements under division 2, subdivision 2 or division 4, subdivision 1,25 20
the chief executive must decide whether to allow the EIS to proceed under 21
this part as if the noncompliance had not happened. 22
`(2) The chief executive may decide to allow the EIS to proceed only if 23
the chief executive is satisfied there has been substantial compliance with the 24
requirements. 25
`(3) If the chief executive decides not to allow the EIS to proceed, the 26
25 Division 2, subdivision 2 (Public notification of draft terms of reference) or
division 4, subdivision 1 (Public notice requirements)
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chief executive must, within 10 business days after the decision is made-- 1
(a) fix a new period for compliance with the requirements (the "new 2
notice period"); and 3
(b) either fix-- 4
(i) if the noncompliance was with division 2, subdivision 2--a 5
new comment period; or 6
(ii) if the noncompliance was with division 4, subdivision 1--a 7
new submission period; and 8
(c) give the proponent an information notice about the decision not to 9
allow the EIS to proceed and the decision about the new notice 10
period. 11
`(4) The information notice must state the new notice period and the new 12
comment or submission period. 13
`(5) The new notice period applies despite the period for giving the notice 14
under section 34AF(3) or 34AN(2). 15
ART 2--VOLUNTARY PREPARATION OF EIS 16
`P
of pt 2 17
`Purpose
`34BG.(1) The purpose of this part is to allow the proponent for a project 18
to voluntarily prepare an EIS for the project by using the process under 19
part 1, if it is appropriate to do so. 20
`(2) The purpose is achieved by providing for an approval process for the 21
voluntary preparation of an EIS. 22
that may be approved for EIS 23
`Projects
`34BH.(1) The proponent for a project may apply to the chief executive 24
for approval to prepare an EIS for a project. 25
`(2) However, an application can not be made for a project if-- 26
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(a) an EIS requirement is in force for an application under this Act 1
relating to the project; or 2
(b) the Commonwealth Environment Act requires the project to be 3
assessed under chapter 4, part 8 of that Act and the process under 4
part 1 of this chapter has not been decided as an accredited 5
process under the Commonwealth Environment Act;26 or 6
(c) an EIS or similar statement, however called, must be prepared for 7
the project under another State Act and that Act does not allow the 8
EIS or statement to be prepared under part 1. 9
for application 10
`Requirements
`34BI. An approval application must be-- 11
(a) in the approved form; and 12
(b) supported by enough information to allow the chief executive to 13
decide whether an EIS is appropriate for the project; and 14
(c) supported by enough documents or information to establish that 15
the applicant may enter land to which the project relates to carry 16
out any necessary studies for the EIS; and 17
(d) accompanied by-- 18
(i) the documents that, under section 34AD(3), must 19
accompany a submitted draft terms of reference for an EIS; 20
and 21
(ii) the fee prescribed under a regulation. 22
application 23
`Deciding
`34BJ.(1) The chief executive must consider the application and decide 24
either to grant or refuse the approval. 25
`(2) However, the chief executive may grant the approval only if the chief 26
26 See the Commonwealth Environment Act, sections 47 (Agreement may declare
classes of actions do not need assessment) and 87 (Minister must decide on
approach for assessment).
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executive considers an EIS is appropriate for the project. 1
`(3) The chief executive must, within 10 business days after the decision 2
is made, give the proponent a written notice stating the decision, and the 3
reasons for it. 4
HAPTER 2B--DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS 5
`C
AND ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES OTHER 6
THAN FOR MINING ACTIVITIES 7
ART 1--PRELIMINARY 8
`P
of ch 2B 9
`Application
`34BK. This chapter applies in relation to-- 10
(a) development approvals for environmentally relevant activities, 11
other than mining activities; and 12
(b) environmental authorities, other than for a mining activities.27 13
of environmental authority under ch 2B 14
`Types
`34BL.(1) The following are the types of environmental authority under 15
this chapter-- 16
(a) a licence for a level 1 environmentally relevant activity 17
(a "licence"); 18
(b) a provisional environmental authority (a "provisional licence") 19
for a level 1 environmentally relevant activity; 20
(c) an approval for a level 1 environmentally relevant activity 21
(a "level 1 approval"); 22
27 See also chapter 2D (General provisions about environmental authorities)
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(d) an approval for a level 2 environmentally relevant activity 1
(a "level 2 approval"); 2
(e) an integrated authority to the extent it consists of an environmental 3
authority mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d). 4
`(2) A licence may be for an environmentally relevant activity for which 5
development approval for a schedule 8 development for carrying out the 6
activity-- 7
(a) is required (a "licence (with development approval)"); or 8
(b) is not required (a "licence (without development approval)"). 9
`(3) A level 1 approval may be for an environmentally relevant activity 10
for which development approval for a schedule 8 development for carrying 11
out the activity-- 12
(a) is required (a "level 1 approval (with development 13
approval)"); or 14
(b) is not required (a "level 1 approval (without development 15
approval)").28 16
28 For when development approval is required, see the Integrated Planning Act,
sections 3.1.4, 3.1.5 and schedule 8 and section 34BN (Additional material
change of use for Integrated Planning Act) of this Act.
For level 2 approvals, see part 3, division 3 (Obtaining level 2 approval) and
section 118ZZI (Environmental authority or development approval required for
level 2 environmentally relevant activity).
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`PART 2--DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS 1
`Division 1--Assessable development use for Integrated Planning Act 2
for Integrated Planning Act, sch 8, pt 1, item 6 3
`Development
`34BM.(1) For the Integrated Planning Act, schedule 8, part 1, item 6,29 4
a material change of use of premises for an environmentally relevant 5
activity, other than a mining activity, is taken to be assessable development 6
for carrying out the activity. 7
`(2) In this section-- 8
"material change of use", of premises, means a material change of use as 9
defined under the Integrated Planning Act.30 10
material change of use for Integrated Planning Act 11
`Additional
`34BN.(1) This section applies if-- 12
(a) the holder of an environmental authority, or development 13
approval, for an environmentally relevant activity proposes to 14
carry out works for the construction or alteration of premises, or 15
for the installation or alteration of plant or equipment in premises, 16
for carrying out the activity; and 17
(b) the construction, alteration or installation will result in an increase 18
of 10% or more in the release of contaminant into the 19
environment under the authority or approval. 20
29 Integrated Planning Act, schedule 8 (Assessable, self-assessable and exempt
development), part 1 (Assessable development)
30 Integrated Planning Act, section 1.3.5--
"material change of use", of premises, means--
(a) the start of a new use of the premises; or
(b) the re-establishment on the premises of a use that has been
abandoned; or
(c) a material change in the intensity or scale of the use of the premises.
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`(2) The increase is-- 1
(a) a material change of use of the premises for the Integrated 2
Planning Act; and 3
(b) taken to be assessable development for that Act.31 4
`(3) This section does not limit section 34BM. 5
`(4) In this section-- 6
"environmental authority" does not include an environmental authority 7
(mining activities).32 8
2--Assessing development applications 9
`Division
of div 2 10
`Application
`34BO. This division applies if the administering authority is the 11
assessment manager or a referral agency for an application for development 12
approval for a schedule 8 development for carrying out an environmentally 13
relevant activity. 14
development applications 15
`Assessing
`34BP.(1) The administering authority must assess the application as if it 16
were an application for a new environmental authority for carrying out the 17
activity. 18
`(2) In assessing the application, the administering authority must-- 19
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 20
(b) consider the standard criteria and any additional information in 21
relation to the application. 22
31 See the Integrated Planning Act, schedule 8 (Assessable self-assessable and
exempt development), part 1, item 6 and schedule 10, definition "assessable
development".
32 For an environmental authority (mining activities), see section 34EO (What is a
"mining activity").
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1
Example of how application is assessed--
2
If an environmentally relevant activity is carried out on premises and a
3
development application is made because of a proposed intensification of the
4
activity, the application is assessed on the basis of the activity as intensified.
`(3) However, for complying with an EPP requirement to follow a stated 5
procedure in evaluating an environmental authority application, the 6
administering authority is required to comply with the requirement only to 7
the extent it is not inconsistent with a period allowed or required for doing 8
anything under the Integrated Planning Act, chapter 3. 9
`(4) To remove any doubt it is declared that subsections (1) and (2) apply 10
only to the extent the application relates to the environmentally relevant 11
activity. 12
`(5) This section does not limit the Integrated Planning Act, 13
section 3.3.15 or chapter 3, part 5, division 233 of that Act. 14
of development approval 15
`Conditions
`34BQ.(1) In deciding conditions of a development approval, 16
sections 34CJ and 34CK apply, with necessary changes, as if the application 17
for the approval were an application for a new environmental authority for 18
carrying out the activity. 19
`(2) Subsection (1) is subject to the Integrated Planning Act, 20
section 3.5.30.34 21
33 Integrated Planning Act, chapter 3 (Integrated development assessment system
(IDAS)), chapter 3, part 5, division 2 (Assessment process) and section 3.5.15
(Decision notice).
34 Sections 34CJ (Criteria for decision) and 34CK (Conditions that may be
imposed).
Integrated Planning Act, section 3.5.30 (Conditions must be relevant or
reasonable).
See also the Integrated Planning Act, sections 3.3.18 (Concurrence agency's
response powers) and 3.3.19 (Advice agency's response powers).
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3--Effect of issue of certain development approvals 1
`Division
approvals continue to have effect 2
`Development
`34BR.(1) This section applies if-- 3
(a) the development to which this part applies is a material change in 4
the intensity or scale of the use of premises under the Integrated 5
Planning Act; and 6
(b) the development application for the development is made by or 7
for the holder of 1 or more environmental authorities for 1 or 8
more environmentally relevant activities; and 9
(c) a development approval takes effect for carrying out the activity or 10
activities to which the permit relates. 11
`(2) The environmental authority or authorities are cancelled to the extent 12
they authorise the carrying out of the activity or activities to which the 13
permit relates. 14
`(3) Also, if the currency period under the Integrated Planning Act for the 15
permit ends, the permit continues to have effect for this Act subject to the 16
development conditions applying to the carrying out of the activity or 17
activities to which the permit relates immediately before the period ends. 18
`(4) Subsection (3) applies despite section 3.5.21 of the Integrated 19
Planning Act.35 20
35 Integrated Planning Act, section 3.5.21 (When approval lapses)
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`PART 3--ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY 1
APPLICATIONS 2
1--Obtaining licence (with development approval) 3
`Division
of div 1 4
`Operation
`34BS. This division provides the process to obtain, by application, a 5
licence (with development approval).36 6
for application 7
`Requirements
`34BT. The application must be-- 8
(a) made to the administering authority in the approved form; and 9
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 10
the application; and 11
(c) accompanied by the prescribed fee that, under a regulation, must 12
accompany the application. 13
application 14
`Deciding
`34BU. The administering authority must, within 28 days after the 15
application date, consider the application and decide whether to grant or 16
refuse it. 17
for decision 18
`Criteria
`34BV. In deciding whether to grant or refuse the application, the 19
administering authority must consider the following-- 20
36 For how to obtain a level 1 approval see part 4 (Conversion of licence to level 1
approval).
For level 2 environmentally relevant activities carried out under a development
approval, see section 118ZZI (Environmental authority or development approval
required for level 2 environmentally relevant activity).
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(a) additional information given in relation to the application; 1
(b) any suitability report obtained for the application; 2
(c) any IEMS submission for the activity. 3
that may be imposed 4
`Conditions
`34BW.(1) The administering authority may only impose conditions on 5
the licence-- 6
(a) about the integrated environmental management system for the 7
activity; or 8
(b) requiring the giving of financial assurance under section 115.37 9
`(2) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a condition may be imposed 10
even if it imposes an obligation on the licence holder that continues to apply 11
after the licence has ended or ceased to have effect. 12
after granting application 13
`Steps
`34BX.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 14
it must take the steps mentioned in subsection (2)-- 15
(a) if, under a regulation, the application fee, or part of the fee, is not 16
required to accompany the application, within 10 days after the 17
later of-- 18
(i) the day the decision is made; or 19
(ii) payment of the application fee or part of the fee; or 20
(b) otherwise--within 10 days after the decision is made. 21
`(2) For subsection (1), the steps are as follows-- 22
(a) issue the licence in the approved form; 23
(b) insert it in the appropriate register; 24
(c) give the applicant a copy of the licence. 25
37 Section 115 (When financial assurance may be required)
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`Division 2--Obtaining licence (without development approval) 1
1--General provisions for obtaining licence 2
`Subdivision
of sdiv 1 3
`Operation
`34BY. This subdivision provides the process to obtain, by application, a 4
licence (without development approval). 5
for sdiv 1 6
`Definitions
`34BZ. In this subdivision-- 7
"person" includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or 8
unincorporated. 9
"submission period", for the application, means-- 10
(a) the submission period for the application under 11
section 34CD(1)(b) and (2); or 12
(b) if section 34CF applies--any new submission period fixed under 13
section 34CF(3)(b). 14
for application 15
`Requirements
`34CA. The application must be-- 16
(a) made to the administering authority in the approved form; and 17
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 18
the application, including, for example-- 19
(i) relevant information about the likely risks to the 20
environment; and 21
(ii) details of wastes to be generated; and 22
(iii) any waste minimisation strategy; and 23
(c) accompanied by the prescribed fee that, under a regulation, must 24
accompany the application. 25
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access to application 1
`Public
`34CB.(1) The administering authority must, from the application date to 2
the review date-- 3
(a) keep the application open for inspection by members of the public 4
at-- 5
(i) if the authority is a local government--its public office; or 6
(ii) otherwise--at the authority's head office and the other places 7
the administering executive considers appropriate; and 8
(b) permit a person to take extracts from the application or, on 9
payment of the appropriate fee to the authority, give the person a 10
copy of the application, or part of the application. 11
`(2) This section is subject to section 34CF.38 12
notice of application 13
`Public
`34CC.(1) The applicant must, within 2 days after the application date-- 14
(a) publish a notice about the application (the "application notice") 15
in a newspaper circulating generally in the area where the 16
environmentally relevant activity is proposed to be carried out; 17
and 18
(b) if the application relates to premises-- 19
(i) place the notice on the premises; and 20
(ii) give the notice to the occupier of any adjoining premises. 21
`(2) This section is subject to section 34CF. 22
content of application notice 23
`Required
`34CD.(1) The application notice must be in the approved form and state 24
the following-- 25
(a) that anyone may make a submission to the administering 26
38 Section 34CF (Substantial compliance may be accepted)
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authority about the application; 1
(b) the period (the "submission period") during which submissions 2
may be made; 3
(c) how to make a properly made submission; 4
(d) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 5
`(2) The submission period must not end before the later of the 6
following-- 7
(a) a day or time fixed by the authority before the notice is published; 8
(b) 10 days after the application notice is published, placed and given 9
under section 34CC. 10
of compliance 11
`Declaration
`34CE.(1) The applicant must, within 7 days after the application date, 12
give the administering authority a statutory declaration declaring whether or 13
not the applicant has complied with the notice requirements under 14
section 34CC and 34CD. 15
`(2) A copy of the application notice must be attached to the declaration. 16
`(3) The proponent is taken to have complied with the requirements if-- 17
(a) a declaration is given under this section; and 18
(b) the declaration states the proponent has complied with the 19
requirements. 20
compliance may be accepted 21
`Substantial
`34CF.(1) If the applicant has not complied with the notice requirements 22
under section 34CC or 34CD, the administering authority must decide 23
whether to allow the application to proceed under this part as if the 24
noncompliance had not happened. 25
`(2) The authority may decide to allow the application to proceed only if it 26
is satisfied there has been substantial compliance with the requirements. 27
`(3) If the authority decides not to allow the application to proceed-- 28
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(a) any steps purportedly taken to comply with sections 34CC 1
and 34CD are of no effect; and 2
(b) the authority must, within 10 days after the decision is made, give 3
the applicant-- 4
(i) a written notice fixing a new period for giving the application 5
notice (the "new notice period"); and 6
(ii) if the submission period under section 34CD has or will start 7
before the new notice period--a new submission period for 8
the application; and 9
(iii) an information notice about the decision not to allow the 10
application to proceed and the decision to fix the new notice 11
period. 12
`(4) The new notice period applies despite section 34CD(2). 13
to make submission 14
`Right
`34CG. A person may, within the submission period, make a 15
submission to the chief executive about the application. 16
of submissions 17
`Acceptance
`34CH.(1) The administering authority must accept a submission if it-- 18
(a) is written; and 19
(b) is signed by or for each person ("signatory") who made the 20
submission; and 21
(c) states the name and address of each signatory; and 22
(d) is made to the authority; and 23
(e) is received on or before the last day of the submission period. 24
`(2) A submission that complies with subsection (1) is called a 25
"properly made submission". 26
`(3) The authority may accept a written submission even if it is not a 27
properly made submission. 28
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application 1
`Deciding
`34CI. Subject to section 34CM,39 the administering authority must, 2
within the later of the following periods to end, consider and decide whether 3
to grant or refuse the application-- 4
(a) 28 days after the application date; 5
(b) 28 days after the authority receives the declaration of compliance 6
under section 34CE; 7
(c) 10 days after the submission period ends. 8
for decision 9
`Criteria
`34CJ. In deciding whether to grant or refuse the application, the 10
administering authority-- 11
(a) must comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 12
(b) subject to paragraph (a), must consider the following-- 13
(i) the standard criteria; 14
(ii) additional information given in relation to the application; 15
(iii) any suitability report obtained for the application; 16
(iv) any properly made submission for the application; 17
(v) the views expressed at a conference held in relation to the 18
application. 19
that may and must be imposed 20
`Conditions
`34CK.(1) The administering authority may impose the conditions on 21
the licence it considers are necessary or desirable. 22
`(2) The conditions must include any condition the authority is required 23
to impose under an EPP requirement. 24
`(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), the conditions may-- 25
39 Section 34CM (When provisional licence may be issued)
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(a) require the licence holder to do all or any of the following-- 1
(i) install and operate stated plant or equipment in a stated way 2
within a stated period; 3
(ii) take stated measures to minimise the likelihood of 4
environmental harm being caused; 5
(iii) carry out and report on a stated monitoring program; 6
(iv) prepare and carry out an environmental management 7
program; 8
(v) give relevant information reasonably required by the 9
administering authority for the administration or 10
enforcement of this Act; 11
(vi) carry out or report about stated rehabilitation or remediation 12
work relating to the environmentally relevant activity the 13
subject of the licence; or 14
(b) prohibit the holder from changing, replacing or operating any 15
plant or equipment installed in the licensed place if the change, 16
replacement or operation increases, or is likely to substantially 17
increase, the risk of environmental harm; or 18
(c) include a condition under section 115 40 requiring the giving of 19
financial assurance. 20
`(4) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a condition may be imposed 21
even if it imposes an obligation on the licence holder that continues to apply 22
after the licence has ended or ceased to have effect. 23
24
Example for subsection (4)--
25
A condition may--
26
1. Be about rehabilitation of the land to which the licence relates after the
27
licence has ended; or
28
2. Require a site management plan for the land.
40 Section 115 (When financial assurance may be required)
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after granting application 1
`Steps
`34CL.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 2
it must take the steps mentioned in subsection (2)-- 3
(a) if, under a regulation, the application fee, or part of the fee, is not 4
required to accompany the application, within 10 days after the 5
later of-- 6
(i) the day the decision is made; or 7
(ii) payment of the application fee or part of the fee; or 8
(b) otherwise--within 10 days after the decision is made. 9
`(2) For subsection (1), the steps are-- 10
(a) issue the licence in the approved form; and 11
(b) insert it in the appropriate register; and 12
(c) give the applicant a copy of the licence. 13
2--Provisional licences 14
`Subdivision
provisional licence may be issued 15
`When
`34CM.(1) This section applies within the period required for deciding a 16
licence application under subdivision 1 if the licence applied for has not been 17
issued. 18
`(2) If the administering authority considers the applicant can not give 19
enough information about the licence application to allow it to decide the 20
application, it may, instead of issuing the licence, issue a provisional licence 21
if-- 22
(a) the authority is satisfied the applicant will be able to comply with 23
all relevant environmental protection policies; and 24
(b) the applicant has given the authority a written undertaking to 25
comply with the policies. 26
`(3) However, the authority must not issue more than 1 provisional 27
licence for the same environmentally relevant activity carried out at the same 28
place. 29
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`(4) The authority may impose conditions on a provisional licence that, 1
under section 34CK, may be imposed on a licence. 2
`(5) The information that, under subsection (2), the authority considers 3
the applicant can not give is called the "missing information" for the 4
provisional licence. 5
after decision to grant provisional licence 6
`Steps
`34CN. If the administering authority decides to issue a provisional 7
licence, it must within 10 days-- 8
(a) issue the provisional licence in the approved form; and 9
(b) insert it in the appropriate register; and 10
(c) give the applicant-- 11
(i) a copy of the provisional licence; and 12
(ii) a written notice stating the missing information for the 13
provisional licence. 14
of provisional licence 15
`Term
`34CO. A provisional licence-- 16
(a) takes effect on the later of the following-- 17
(i) the day stated in it; 18
(ii) if a properly made submission was made for the licence 19
application to which the provisional licence relates--the 20
review date for that application; and 21
(b) remains in force until-- 22
(i) the fifth anniversary of the day it was issued; or 23
(ii) if an earlier day is stated in the provisional licence for it to 24
expire--the earlier day. 25
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notices 1
`Reminder
`34CP.(1) The administering authority must, at least 30 days before a 2
provisional licence expires, give the licence holder a notice. 3
`(2) The notice must state-- 4
(a) the day the provisional licence expires; and 5
(b) that the holder of the provisional licence may, under 6
section 34CQ, apply for a new licence for the environmentally 7
relevant activity for which the provisional licence was issued; and 8
(c) the missing information for the provisional licence. 9
`(3) A contravention of this section does not affect the expiry of the 10
provisional licence. 11
for new licence 12
`Application
`34CQ.(1) The holder of a provisional licence may apply to the 13
administering authority to-- 14
(a) cancel the provisional licence; and 15
(b) issue a new licence for the environmentally relevant activity for 16
which the provisional licence was issued. 17
`(2) The application must be-- 18
(a) in the approved form; and 19
(b) made before the provisional licence expires; and 20
(c) supported by the missing information for the provisional licence; 21
and 22
(d) accompanied by the prescribed fee that, under a regulation, must 23
accompany the application. 24
`(3) Subdivision 1 applies to the application, with necessary changes, as 25
if the application were a licence application. 26
`(4) If the authority issues the new licence, it must cancel the provisional 27
licence. 28
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3--Obtaining level 2 approval 1
`Division
of div 3 2
`Operation
`34CR. This division provides the process to obtain, by application, a 3
level 2 approval.41 4
for application 5
`Requirements
`34CS. The application must be-- 6
(a) made to the administering authority in the approved form; and 7
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 8
the application, including, for example-- 9
(i) relevant information about the likely risks to the 10
environment; and 11
(ii) details of wastes to be generated; and 12
(iii) any waste minimisation strategy; and 13
(c) accompanied by the prescribed fee that, under a regulation, must 14
accompany the application. 15
application 16
`Deciding
`34CT. The administering authority must, within 28 days after the 17
application date, consider and decide whether to grant or refuse the 18
application. 19
for decision 20
`Criteria
`34CU. In deciding whether to grant or refuse the application, the 21
administering authority-- 22
(a) must comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 23
41 See section 118ZZI (Environmental authority or development approval required
for level 2 environmentally relevant activity).
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(b) subject to paragraph (a), must consider the following-- 1
(i) the standard criteria; 2
(ii) additional information given in relation to the application; 3
(iii) any suitability report obtained for the application. 4
that may and must be imposed 5
`Conditions
`34CV.(1) The administering authority may impose the conditions on the 6
level 2 approval it considers are necessary or desirable. 7
`(2) The conditions must include any condition the authority is required 8
to impose under an EPP requirement. 9
`(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), the conditions may require 10
the licence holder to take stated measures to minimise the likelihood of 11
environmental harm being caused. 12
`(4) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a condition may be imposed 13
even if it imposes an obligation on the approval holder that continues to 14
apply after the approval has ended or ceased to have effect. 15
16
Example for subsection (4)--
17
A condition may--
18
1. Be about rehabilitation of the land to which the approval relates after the
19
approval has ended; or
20
2. Require a site management plan for the land.
after granting application 21
`Steps
`34CW.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 22
it must take the steps mentioned in subsection (2)-- 23
(a) if, under a regulation, the application fee, or part of the fee, is not 24
required to accompany the application, within 10 days after the 25
later of-- 26
(i) the day the decision is made; or 27
(ii) payment of the application fee or part of the fee; or 28
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(b) otherwise--within 10 days after the decision is made. 1
`(2) For subsection (1), the steps are-- 2
(a) issue the level 2 approval in the approved form; and 3
(b) insert it in the appropriate register; and 4
(c) give the applicant a copy of the approval. 5
`(3) The approval must state a period for which it is issued. 6
4--Miscellaneous provisions 7
`Division
environmental authorities under pt 3 take effect 8
`When
`34CX. An environmental authority, other than a provisional licence, 9
granted under this part takes effect on the later of the following-- 10
(a) the day of its issue; 11
(b) a later day stated in it; 12
(c) on the happening of an event stated in the authority for it to take 13
effect; 14
(d) if the authority was granted under division 2, subdivision 1,42 and 15
a properly made submission was made the application for the 16
authority--the review date. 17
of environmental authority 18
`Term
`34CY.(1) A licence continues in force unless it is-- 19
(a) surrendered under section 34DV; or 20
(b) converted into a level 1 approval following the grant of a 21
conversion application for the licence; or 22
42 Division 2, subdivision 1 (General provisions for obtaining licence)
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(c) cancelled or suspended under part 7.43 1
`(2) A level 1 approval continues in force unless it is cancelled or 2
suspended under part 7. 3
`(3) A level 2 approval continues in force for the period stated in it. 4
notice about decision on application 5
`Information
`34CZ.(1) The administering authority must, within 10 days after 6
making a decision to do the following for an application under this part for 7
an environmental authority, give the applicant and any submitter for the 8
application an information notice about the decision-- 9
(a) to refuse the application; 10
(b) to impose a condition on the environmental authority, other than a 11
condition that is the same, or is to the same effect, as a condition 12
agreed to or requested by the applicant. 13
`(2) If the administering authority decides, under division 2,44 to grant a 14
licence it must, within 10 days after making the decision, give any submitter 15
for the licence application an information notice about the decision. 16
43 Section 34DV (Surrender of licence)
Part 7 (Amendment, cancellation or suspension of environmental authorities by
administering authority)
44 Division 2 (Obtaining licence (without development approval))
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`PART 4--CONVERSION OF LICENCE TO LEVEL 1 1
APPROVAL 2
1--Conversion applications 3
`Division
conversion application may be made 4
`When
`34DA. The holder of a licence, other than a provisional licence, may 5
apply to convert the licence to a level 1 approval for the activity 6
(a "conversion application") only if the holder-- 7
(a) has held the licence for 2 years or more; and 8
(b) has, in the 2 years immediately before the application is made; 9
complied with-- 10
(i) the conditions of the licence; and 11
(ii) if the licence is a licence (with development approval)--the 12
development conditions of the development approval for the 13
licensed activity; and 14
(c) is not the holder of an environmental management program 15
approval for the activity; and 16
(d) is not subject to an environmental protection order in carrying out 17
the activity. 18
for application 19
`Requirements
`34DB. A conversion application must be-- 20
(a) made to the administering authority in the approved form; and 21
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 22
the application, including, for example-- 23
(i) relevant information about the likely risks to the 24
environment; and 25
(ii) details of wastes to be generated; and 26
(iii) any waste minimisation strategy. 27
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`Division 2--Processing conversion applications 1
application 2
`Deciding
`34DC. The administering authority must consider each conversion 3
application and decide whether to grant or refuse it within 28 days after the 4
application date. 5
for decision 6
`Criteria
`34DD.(1) The administering authority may grant a conversion 7
application only if it is satisfied the risk of environmental harm from the 8
activity is insignificant because-- 9
(a) of any applicable cleaner production techniques used by the 10
applicant; and 11
(b) of any applicable waste minimisation practices used by the 12
applicant; and 13
(c) of contingency plans the applicant has developed to manage 14
abnormal or emergency situations that may arise in carrying out 15
the activity; and 16
(d) the applicant's implementation of best practice environmental 17
management techniques has resulted in levels of environmental 18
protection over and above the levels required by-- 19
(i) the conditions of the licence; and 20
(ii) if the licence is a licence (with development approval)--the 21
development conditions of the development approval for the 22
licensed activity; and 23
(e) of the applicant's compliance with the general environmental 24
duty. 25
`(2) Also, if the application relates to a licence (without development 26
approval), in deciding whether to grant or refuse the application, the 27
authority-- 28
(a) must comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 29
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(b) subject to paragraph (a), must consider the following-- 1
(i) the standard criteria; 2
(ii) additional information given in relation to the application; 3
(iii) any suitability report obtained for the application; 4
(iv) any properly made submission for the application; 5
(v) the views expressed at a conference held in relation to the 6
application. 7
of converted environmental authority 8
`Conditions
`34DE.(1) If a conversion application is granted, the conditions of the 9
licence become, with necessary changes, conditions of the level 1 approval. 10
`(2) The administering authority must also impose a condition on the 11
approval if, under an EPP requirement, it must be imposed on the approval. 12
`(3) The authority may impose another condition on the approval only 13
if-- 14
(a) for an application relating to a licence (with development 15
approval)--the condition is about the integrated environmental 16
management system for the environmentally relevant activity to 17
which the approval relates; or 18
(b) for an application relating to a licence (without development 19
approval)--the condition is no more stringent than the conditions 20
of the licence. 21
after granting application 22
`Steps
`34DF. If the administering authority decides to grant a conversion 23
application, it must, within 10 days after the decision is made, take the 24
following steps-- 25
(a) cancel the licence; 26
(b) issue the level 1 approval in the approved form; 27
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(c) insert it in the appropriate register; 1
(d) give the applicant a copy of the approval. 2
conversion takes effect 3
`When
`34DG. The conversion of a licence to a level 1 approval under this part 4
takes effect on the later of the following-- 5
(a) the day the licence is cancelled; 6
(b) the day the approval is issued; 7
(c) a later day stated in the approval; 8
(d) on the happening of an event stated in the approval for it to take 9
effect. 10
notice about decision on conversion application 11
`Information
`34DH.(1) The administering authority must, within 10 days after 12
making a decision as follows, give the applicant an information notice about 13
the decision-- 14
(a) a decision to refuse a conversion application; 15
(b) a decision under section 34DE(3) to impose a condition on a 16
level 1 approval, other than a condition that is the same, or is to 17
the same effect, as a condition agreed to or requested by the 18
applicant. 19
`(2) If a conversion application relates to a licence (without development 20
approval) and the authority decides to grant the application, it must, within 21
10 days after making the decision, give any submitter for the application an 22
information notice about the decision. 23
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ART 5--AMENDING ENVIRONMENTAL 1
`P
AUTHORITIES BY APPLICATION 2
authorities that may be amended by application 3
`Environmental
`34DI.(1) The holder of an environmental authority as follows may 4
apply to the administering authority to amend it (an "amendment 5
application")-- 6
(a) a licence (without development approval); 7
(b) a level 1 approval (without development approval). 8
`(2) The following can not be amended, other than under part 7-- 9
(a) a licence (with development approval); 10
(b) a level 1 approval (with development approval); 11
(c) a level 2 approval. 12
for amendment application 13
`Requirements
`34DJ. An amendment application must be-- 14
(a) in the approved form; and 15
(b) supported by enough information to allow the administering 16
authority to decide the application; and 17
(c) accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 18
notice may be required for licence amendment 19
`Public
`34DK.(1) This section applies only if an amendment application relates 20
to a licence. 21
`(2) The administering authority may, within 5 days after the application 22
date, by written notice to the applicant, decide that sections 34CB to 34CH 23
apply for the application (a "public notice requirement"). 24
`(3) However, a public notice requirement must not be made unless the 25
administering authority is satisfied there is likely to be a substantial increase 26
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in the risk of environmental harm under the amended licence because of a 1
substantial change in-- 2
(a) the quantity or quality of contaminant authorised to be released 3
into the environment; or 4
(b) the results of the release of a quantity or quality of contaminant 5
authorised to be released into the environment. 6
`(4) Without limiting subsection (3)(a), an increase of 10% or more in 7
the quantity of a contaminant to be released into the environment is a 8
substantial change. 9
`(5) The notice must be accompanied by, or include, an information 10
notice about the decision. 11
`(6) If a public notice requirement has been made, sections 34CB 12
to 34CH apply for the application, with necessary changes, as if the 13
application were a licence application under part 3, division 2, subdivision 1. 14
`(7) However, for applying section 34CC, the reference to 2 days after 15
the application date is taken to be 10 days after the application date.45 16
application 17
`Deciding
`34DL. The administering authority must consider and decide either to 18
grant or refuse each amendment application within the later of the 19
following-- 20
(a) 28 days after the application date; 21
(b) if a public notice requirement has been made for the application-- 22
(i) 28 days after the authority receives the declaration of 23
compliance under section 34CE; or 24
(ii) 10 days after the submission period ends. 25
45 Part 3, division 2, subdivision 1 (General provisions for obtaining licence)
Section 34CC (Public notice of application)
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for decision 1
`Criteria
`34DM.(1) If an amendment application relates to a licence, the criteria 2
mentioned in section 34CJ for deciding an environmental authority 3
application apply. 4
`(2) If an amendment application relates to a level 1 approval, in deciding 5
whether to grant or refuse the application, the administering authority must 6
consider the standard criteria. 7
on application 8
`Decision
`34DN. The administering authority may grant an amendment 9
application if it is satisfied the amendment is necessary or desirable. 10
after making decision 11
`Steps
`34DO.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant an amendment 12
application, it must do the following within 10 days after the decision is 13
made-- 14
(a) amend the licence or level 1 approval to give effect to the 15
amendment; 16
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register; 17
(c) give the applicant a copy of the amended licence or 18
level 1 approval; 19
(d) give any submitter for the application an information notice about 20
the decision. 21
`(2) If the authority decides to refuse an amendment application, it must 22
within 10 days after the decision is made, give the applicant and any 23
submitter for the application an information notice about the decision. 24
amendment takes effect 25
`When
`34DP. An amendment made under section 34DO(1)(a) takes effect on 26
the later of the following-- 27
(a) the day the amendment is made; 28
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(b) a later day stated in the amended licence or level 1 approval; 1
(c) if a public notice requirement has been made for the application 2
and a properly made submission was made about the 3
application--the day after the review date; 4
(d) another day agreed to by the holder of the licence or level 1 5
approval. 6
`PART 6--DEALINGS WITH LICENCES 7
`Division 1--Required notice to proposed transferee 8
of disposal by licence holder 9
`Notice
`34DQ.(1) This section applies if a licence holder proposes to dispose of 10
the holder's business to someone else (the "proposed transferee"). 11
`(2) Before agreeing to dispose of the business, the holder must give the 12
proposed transferee written notice that the proposed transferee must make 13
application under division 2 for the transfer of the licence or for a new 14
licence. 15
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 16
`(3) If the holder does not comply with subsection (2), the proposed 17
transferee may rescind the agreement by written notice given to the holder 18
before the completion of the agreement or possession under the agreement, 19
whichever is the earlier. 20
`(4) On rescission of the agreement under subsection (3)-- 21
(a) a person who was paid amounts by the proposed transferee under 22
the agreement must refund the amounts to the proposed 23
transferee; and 24
(b) the proposed transferee must return to the holder any documents 25
about the disposal, other than the proposed transferee's copy of 26
the agreement. 27
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`(5) Subsections (3) and (4) have effect despite any other Act or anything 1
to the contrary in the agreement. 2
2--Transfer of licences (without development approval) 3
`Division
only by approval 4
`Transfer
`34DR. A licence (without development approval) may be transferred 5
only if-- 6
(a) an application for the transfer has been made under this division 7
(a "transfer application"); and 8
(b) the administering authority has approved the transfer.46 9
for transfer application 10
`Requirements
`34DS. A transfer application must be-- 11
(a) made to the administering authority by the proposed transferee in 12
the approved form; and 13
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 14
the application; and 15
(c) accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 16
application 17
`Deciding
`34DT. The administering authority must, within 28 days after the 18
application date, consider each transfer application and decide either to 19
approve or refuse the transfer. 20
after making decision 21
`Steps
`34DU.(1) If the administering authority decides to approve a transfer, it 22
46 For approvals, see section 34EK (No dealings with licence (with development
approval) or approval)).
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must, within 10 days after the decision is made-- 1
(a) amend the licence to give effect to the transfer; and 2
(b) record particulars of the transfer in the appropriate register; and 3
(c) give the applicant a copy of the transferred licence. 4
`(2) The transfer takes effect on the day the decision is made or a later 5
day stated in the transferred licence. 6
`(3) If the authority decides to refuse a transfer, it must, within 10 days 7
after the decision is made, give the applicant an information notice about the 8
decision. 9
`Division 3--Surrender of licences (without development approval) 10
of licence 11
`Surrender
`34DV.(1) The holder of a licence (without development approval) may 12
surrender it only by written notice given to the administering authority. 13
`(2) The surrender takes effect on the later of the following-- 14
(a) the day the notice is given; 15
(b) a later day stated in the notice. 16
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`PART 7--AMENDMENT, CANCELLATION OR 1
SUSPENSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES 2
BY ADMINISTERING AUTHORITY 3
`Division 1--Conditions for amendment, cancellation or suspension 4
1--Amendments 5
`Subdivision
6
`Corrections
`34DW. The administering authority may amend an environmental 7
authority under this chapter, at any time to correct a clerical or formal error 8
(a "correction") if-- 9
(a) the proposed amendment does not adversely affect the interests of 10
the environmental authority holder or anyone else; and 11
(b) written notice of the amendment has been given to the holder. 12
amendments 13
`Other
`34DX.(1) The administering authority may amend an environmental 14
authority under this chapter, other than a licence (with development 15
approval) or a level 2 approval, at any time if-- 16
(a) the holder has agreed in writing to the amendment; or 17
(b) it considers the amendment necessary or desirable because of a 18
ground mentioned in subsection (2) and-- 19
(i) if the amendment relates to a condition of the environmental 20
authority--the amended condition is a condition that may be 21
imposed on the environmental authority; and 22
(ii) the procedure under division 2 is followed. 23
`(2) For subsection (1)(b), the grounds are that the authority considers the 24
amendment necessary or desirable because of any of the following-- 25
(a) a contravention of this Act by the holder; 26
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(b) the environmental authority was issued because of a materially 1
false or misleading representation or declaration, made either 2
orally or in writing; 3
(c) the environmental authority was issued on the basis of a 4
miscalculation of-- 5
(i) the quantity or quality of contaminant authorised to be 6
released into the environment; or 7
(ii) the effects of the release of a quantity or quality of 8
contaminant authorised to be released into the environment; 9
(d) a change in the way in which, or the place where, contaminants 10
are, or are likely to be, released into the environment; 11
(e) the approval of an environmental protection policy or the approval 12
of the amendment of an environmental protection policy; 13
(f) an environmental report; 14
(g) if the environmental authority is for a level 1 approval--the 15
administering authority forms the opinion that the risk of 16
environmental harm from an activity carried out under the 17
approval is no longer insignificant; 18
(h) another circumstance prescribed under a regulation. 19
`Subdivision 2--Cancellation or suspension 20
21
`Conditions
`34DY.(1) The administering authority may cancel or suspend an 22
environmental authority under this chapter, other than a level 2 approval, 23
if-- 24
(a) an event mentioned in subsection (3) has happened; and 25
(b) the procedure under division 2 is followed. 26
`(2) If the environmental authority is a level 1 approval, the administering 27
authority may also cancel the approval and issue a licence in its place. 28
`(3) For subsection (1)(a), the events are as follows-- 29
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(a) the environmental authority was issued because of a materially 1
false or misleading representation or declaration, made either 2
orally or in writing; 3
(b) if the environmental authority is for a level 1 approval--the 4
administering authority forms the opinion that the risk of 5
environmental harm from an activity carried out under the 6
approval is no longer insignificant; 7
(c) the environmental authority holder is, after the issue of the 8
environmental authority, convicted of an environmental offence; 9
(d) the holder has been given an annual notice and the notice has not 10
been complied with. 11
`Division 2--Procedure for amendment without agreement, cancellation 12
or suspension 13
of div 2 14
`Application
`34DZ. This division applies if the administering authority proposes to-- 15
(a) amend an environmental authority, other than-- 16
(i) to make a correction; or 17
(ii) with the written agreement of the environmental authority 18
holder; or 19
(b) cancel or suspend an environmental authority. 20
of proposed action 21
`Notice
`34EA.(1) The administering authority must give the environmental 22
authority holder a written notice stating the following-- 23
(a) the action (the "proposed action") the administering authority 24
proposes taking under this division; 25
(b) the grounds for the proposed action; 26
(c) the facts and circumstances that are the basis for the grounds; 27
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(d) if the proposed action is to amend the environmental 1
authority--the proposed amendment; 2
(e) if the proposed action is to suspend the environmental 3
authority--the proposed suspension period; 4
(f) that the holder may make, within a stated period, written 5
representations to show why the proposed action should not be 6
taken. 7
`(2) The stated period must end at least 30 days after the holder is given 8
the proposed action notice. 9
`(3) For subsection (1)(e), the proposed suspension period may be fixed 10
by reference to a stated event. 11
12
Example for subsection (3)--
13
If a ground on which the proposed action is to be taken is that financial assurance
14
required under a condition of the environmental authority has not been given, the
15
proposed suspension period may be stated as the period ending when the financial
16
assurance is given.
representations 17
`Considering
`34EB. The administering authority must consider any written 18
representation made within the period stated in the notice under 19
section 34EA by the environmental authority holder. 20
on proposed action 21
`Decision
`34EC.(1) If, after complying with section 34EB, the administering 22
authority still believes a ground exists to take the proposed action, it may-- 23
(a) if the proposed action was to amend the environmental authority 24
in a stated way--make the amendment; or 25
(b) if the proposed action was to suspend the environmental authority 26
for a stated period--suspend the environmental authority for no 27
longer than the proposed suspension period; or 28
(c) if the proposed action was to cancel the environmental authority-- 29
(i) cancel the environmental authority; or 30
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(ii) suspend it for a fixed period; or 1
(iii) if the environmental authority is a level 1 approval (with 2
development approval)--cancel the approval and issue a 3
licence in its place subject to conditions that may be imposed 4
on a licence (with development approval); or 5
(iv) if the environmental authority is a level 1 approval (without 6
development approval), cancel the approval and issue a 7
licence in its place subject to conditions-- 8
(A) required, under an EPP requirement, to be imposed on 9
a licence (without development approval); and 10
(B) the administering authority considers necessary or 11
desirable. 12
`(2) The decision under subsection (1) is called the "proposed action 13
decision". 14
`(3) If the administering authority at any time decides not to take the 15
proposed action, it must promptly give the holder written notice of the 16
decision. 17
of proposed action decision 18
`Notice
`34ED.(1) The administering authority must, within 10 days after 19
making the proposed action decision, give the environmental authority 20
holder-- 21
(a) an information notice about the decision; and 22
(b) if the decision was to cancel the approval and issue a licence in its 23
place--a copy of the licence. 24
`(2) The decision takes effect on the later of the following-- 25
(a) the day the notice is given to the holder; 26
(b) a later day of effect stated in the notice; 27
(c) if the decision was to cancel the approval and issue a licence in its 28
place--the day after the review date. 29
`(3) However, if the decision was to cancel or suspend the environmental 30
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authority because of the conviction of the holder for an offence, the 1
cancellation or suspension-- 2
(a) does not take effect until-- 3
(i) the period to appeal against the conviction ends; and 4
(ii) if the appeal is made against the conviction--the appeal is 5
finally decided or is otherwise ended; and 6
(b) has no effect if the conviction is quashed on appeal. 7
`Division 3--Steps after making decision 8
for corrections 9
`Steps
`34EE. If the administering authority amends an environmental authority 10
to make a correction, it must within 10 days after giving notice of the 11
correction under section 34DW(b)-- 12
(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 13
amendment; and 14
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register. 15
for amendment by agreement 16
`Steps
`34EF. If the administering authority amends an environmental authority 17
with the environmental authority holder's agreement, it must within 18
10 days-- 19
(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 20
amendment; and 21
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register; 22
and 23
(c) give the holder a copy of the amended environmental authority. 24
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for amendment without agreement or for cancellation or 1
`Steps
suspension 2
`34EG.(1) This section applies if the proposed action decision is to take 3
action and the decision has taken effect. 4
`(2) The administering authority must, within 10 days-- 5
(a) take the action; and 6
(b) record particulars of the action in the appropriate register. 7
`(3) If the action is suspension of the environmental authority-- 8
(a) the particulars must state when the suspension period starts and 9
ends; and 10
(b) the suspension ends when the suspension period is stated to end. 11
`(4) If the action is to amend the environmental authority, the 12
administering authority must also give the environmental authority holder a 13
copy of the amended environmental authority as soon as practicable. 14
`PART 8--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 15
authorities for new environmentally relevant activities 16
`Environmental
`34EGA.(1) This section applies if-- 17
(a) an activity, other than a mining activity, first becomes an 18
environmentally relevant activity, on or after the commencement 19
of this section; and 20
(b) immediately before the activity became an environmentally 21
relevant activity, a person was carrying out the activity; and 22
(c) within 4 months after the day the activity becomes an 23
environmentally relevant activity, the person applies for an 24
environmental authority for the activity. 25
`(2) Sections 118ZZH and 118ZZI do not apply to the person until-- 26
(a) if the application is granted--the day the environmental authority 27
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issued to the person for the activity takes effect; or 1
(b) if the application is refused--the day after notice of the decision to 2
refuse it is given to the applicant; or 3
(c) if, under section 34EI, the application is taken to have been 4
refused--the end of the period within which it was required to be 5
decided. 6
`(3) Despite section 34CI(1), the administering authority must decide the 7
application within 3 months after the application date. 8
`(4) For this section, an activity does not first become an environmentally 9
relevant activity on a day if, immediately before the day, an environmental 10
authority could be issued to a person for the activity.47 11
authority may call conference 12
`Administering
`34EH.(1) The administering authority may invite an applicant under this 13
chapter and all or any submitters for the application to a conference to help it 14
in deciding the application. 15
`(2) The authority must give written notice to all persons invited to attend 16
the conference of when and where the conference is to be held. 17
`(3) However, if the authority considers it is impracticable to give notice 18
to all persons invited to attend the conference, it may give notice of the 19
conference by publishing a notice in the newspapers the authority decides. 20
`(4) The authority must endeavour to appoint an independent person to 21
mediate the conference. 22
to decide application taken to be refusal 23
`Failure
`34EI. If the administering authority fails to decide an application under 24
this chapter within the period it is required to decide the application, the 25
47 Sections 118ZZH (Environmental authority required for level 1 environmentally
relevant activity), 118ZI (Environmental authority or development approval
required for level 2 environmentally relevant activity), 34EI (Failure to decide
application taken to be refusal) and 34CI (Deciding application)
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failure is taken to be a decision by the authority to refuse the application at 1
the end of the period. 2
for refusing application for or to transfer environmental 3
`Grounds
authority 4
`34EJ.(1) This section applies if the administering authority is 5
considering an application for, or to transfer, an environmental authority 6
under this chapter. 7
`(2) The administering authority may refuse the application-- 8
(a) if it is satisfied the proposed holder is not a suitable person to hold 9
an environmental authority; or 10
(b) if a disqualifying event has happened in relation to the proposed 11
holder or another person of whom the person is a partner; or 12
(c) if the proposed holder is a corporation, a disqualifying event has 13
happened in relation to-- 14
(i) any of its executive officers; or 15
(ii) another corporation of which any of its executive officers is, 16
or has been, an executive officer. 17
`(3) In deciding whether a proposed holder is suitable person to hold an 18
environmental authority, the administering authority must consider all 19
relevant matters, including, for example-- 20
(a) the proposed holder's environmental record; and 21
(b) the proposed holder's ability to comply with any conditions or 22
proposed conditions of the environmental authority or proposed 23
environmental authority.48 24
dealings with licence (with development approval) or approval 25
`No
`34EK. A licence (with development approval) or a level 1 or 2 approval 26
can not be surrendered or transferred. 27
48 See chapter 7, part 2, division 3 (Investigating suitability).
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of ceasing activity under certain environmental authorities 1
`Notice
`34EL.(1) This section applies to the holder of licence or level 1 approval 2
(with development approval). 3
`(2) The holder must, within 14 days after ceasing an environmentally 4
relevant activity to which the licence or approval relates, give the 5
administering authority written notice of the ceasing of the activity. 6
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--50 penalty units. 7
of licence holder 8
`Death
`34EM.(1) If a licence holder dies, the personal representative of the 9
holder's estate is taken to be the holder of the licence for-- 10
(a) 6 months from the day of the holder's death; or 11
(b) any longer period the administering authority decides, on written 12
application made by the personal representative made within the 6 13
months. 14
`(2) The authority must, within 10 business days after it receives the 15
application, consider the application and decide whether to grant or refuse it. 16
`(3) If the authority decides to refuse the application, it must, within 17
10 business days after making the decision, give the applicant an 18
information notice about the decision. 19
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HAPTER 2C--ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES 1
`C
FOR MINING ACTIVITIES 2
ART 1--PRELIMINARY 3
`P
1--Introduction 4
`Division
of ch 2C 5
`Purpose
`34EN.(1) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for environmental 6
authorities for mining activities.49 7
`(2) An authority issued under this chapter for a mining activity is called 8
an "environmental authority (mining activities)". 9
2--Key definitions for ch 2C 10
`Division
is a "mining activity" 11
`What
`34EO.(1) A "mining activity" means an activity mentioned in 12
subsection (2) that, under the Mineral Resources Act, is authorised to take 13
place on-- 14
(a) land to which a mining tenement relates; or 15
(b) land authorised under that Act for access to land mentioned in 16
paragraph (a). 17
`(2) For subsection (1), the activities are as follows-- 18
(a) prospecting, exploring or mining under the Mineral Resources 19
Act or another Act relating to mining; 20
(b) processing a mineral won or extracted by an activity under 21
paragraph (a); 22
(c) an activity that-- 23
49 See also chapter 2D (General provisions about environmental authorities).
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(i) is directly associated with, or facilitates or supports, an 1
activity mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b); and 2
(ii) may cause environmental harm; 3
(d) rehabilitating or remediating environmental harm because of a 4
mining activity under paragraphs (a) to (c); 5
(e) action taken to prevent environmental harm because of an activity 6
mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d); 7
(f) any other activity prescribed for this subsection under a 8
regulation. 9
of "environmental authority (mining activities)" 10
`Types
`34EP. An environmental authority (mining activities) may be for 11
mining activities authorised under-- 12
(a) a prospecting permit (an "environmental authority 13
(prospecting)"); or 14
(b) a mining claim (an "environmental authority (mining claim)"); 15
or 16
(c) an exploration permit (an "environmental authority 17
(exploration)"); or 18
(d) a mineral development licence (an "environmental authority 19
(mineral development)"); or 20
(e) a mining lease (an "environmental authority (mining 21
lease)").50 22
is a "mining project" 23
`What
`34EQ. A "mining project" means all mining activities carried out, or 24
proposed to be carried out, under 1 or more mining tenements, in any 25
combination, as a single integrated operation. 26
50 See also section 34EW (Single application required for mining project).
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are "application documents" 1
`What
`34ER. The "application documents" for an environmental authority 2
(mining activities) application are all of the following-- 3
(a) the application; 4
(b) any draft environmental authority for the application; 5
(c) any submitted environmental management document for the 6
application; 7
(d) any EM plan assessment report or EMOS assessment report for 8
the application; 9
(e) any EIS submitted under chapter 2A, part 1 51 for a project that is, 10
or includes, a relevant mining activity for the application; 11
(f) if an EIS mentioned in paragraph (e) has been submitted-- 12
(i) any response under section 34AS(2)(b) to submissions; and 13
(ii) the EIS assessment report; 14
(g) if a relevant mining tenement has, under the State Development 15
Act, part 4, been declared to be, or include, a significant project-- 16
(i) the EIS prepared under that part for the project; and 17
(ii) the coordinator-general's report under section 29K of that 18
Act52 evaluating the EIS; 19
(h) any assessment report under the Commonwealth Environment 20
Act that is for, or includes, a relevant mining activity; 21
(i) any other document relating to the application prescribed under a 22
regulation. 23
51 Chapter 2A, part 1 (EIS process)
52 State Development Act, part 4 (Environmental coordination) and section 29K
(Coordinator-General evaluates EIS, submissions, other material and prepares
report)
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3--Standard mining activities 1
`Division
mining activities 2
`Standard
`34ES.(1) The administering authority may decide that a mining activity 3
or proposed mining activity is a standard mining activity. 4
`(2) However, a mining activity or proposed mining activity may be 5
decided to be a standard mining activity only if the authority considers-- 6
(a) the activity has, or will if carried out have, a low risk of serious 7
environmental harm; and 8
(b) the activity is, or is proposed to be, allowed under an 9
environmental authority; and 10
(c) either-- 11
(i) the environmental authority is an environmental authority 12
(prospecting) or an environmental authority (mining claim); 13
or 14
(ii) all mining activities allowed, or to be allowed, under the 15
environmental authority meet the criteria prescribed under a 16
regulation for that type of environmental authority; or 17
(iii) the likely environmental impact of all mining activities 18
allowed, or to be allowed, under the environmental authority 19
is no more than the environmental impact of all activities 20
allowed under any environmental authority of the same type 21
that meets the prescribed criteria. 22
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`PART 2--GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR OBTAINING 1
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY (MINING 2
ACTIVITIES) 3
1--Introduction 4
`Division
of process to obtain environmental authority (mining 5
`Outline
activities) 6
`34ET.(1) This section outlines the requirements for making an 7
environmental authority (mining activities) application. 8
`(2) Before an application for any of the following is decided, an 9
assessment level decision under division 3 is required-- 10
(a) an environmental authority (exploration); 11
(b) an environmental authority (mineral development); 12
(c) an environmental authority (mining lease). 13
`(3) The following parts provide the process for assessing an 14
application-- 15
(a) for an environmental authority (prospecting)--part 3; 16
(b) for an environmental authority (mining claim)--part 4; 17
(c) for an environmental authority (exploration) or an environmental 18
authority (mineral development)--part 5; 19
(d) for an environmental authority (mining lease)--part 6.53 20
53 Division 3 (Assessment level decision for certain applications)
Parts 3 (Processing environmental authority (Prospecting) applications),
4 (Processing environmental authority (Mining claim) applications) and
5 (Processing environmental authority (Exploration) and environmental authority
(Mineral development) applications)
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`(4) The following table summarises the main steps required under the 1
provisions mentioned in subsections (2) and (3) and identifies the relevant 2
sections for the steps54-- 3
4
Assessment Additional Can an EIS Environmental Public
Type of
5
level decision conditions requirement be management plan notification
environmental
allowed for ("EMP") or EMOS requirement 6
made
authority required
standard and
required 7
(mining
application objections
activities)
Standard Non- Standard Non-standard
application standard application application
application
8
environmental no no no no no no no
9
authority s 34FC s 34FL(3)
(prospecting)
10
environmental no yes no no no no yes
11
authority (mining s 34FC s 34FR s 34FS
claim)
12
environmental yes yes no yes no EMP no
13
authority s 34FC s 34FV s 34FF s 34GC
(exploration)
14
environmental yes yes no yes no EMP no
15
authority (mineral s 34FC s 34FV s 34FF s 34GC
development)
16
environmental yes yes no yes no EMOS yes
17
authority (mining s 34FC s 34GY(3) s 34FF s 34GQ s 34HA &
lease) s 34HF
18
19
2--Applications 20
`Division
`Subdivision 1--General provisions about applications 21
may apply 22
`Who
`34EU.(1) A person may apply for an environmental authority (mining 23
activities) only if the person is the holder of, or the applicant for, each 24
54 Section 34GM (Summary of pt 6 process) also gives a summary of the process
for assessing an environmental authority (mining lease) application.
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relevant mining tenement.55 1
`(2) This section is subject to section 34EX. 2
requirements for application 3
`General
`34EV.(1) An environmental authority (mining activities) application 4
must-- 5
(a) be made to the mining registrar in the approved form; and 6
(b) state whether the application is for-- 7
(i) a standard environmental authority (mining activities); or 8
(ii) a non-standard environmental authority (mining activities); 9
and 10
(c) if the application is for a standard environmental authority 11
(mining activities), state-- 12
(i) the type of environmental authority (mining activities) 13
applied for; and 14
(ii) whether the applicant is able to comply with the standard 15
environmental conditions for that authority; and 16
(d) be accompanied by the prescribed fee that, under a regulation, 17
must accompany the application.56 18
`(2) If the application is for an environmental authority (prospecting) or 19
an environmental authority (mining claim), it must also be supported by 20
enough information to allow the administering authority to decide the 21
application. 22
`(3) If the application is for another type of environmental authority 23
(mining activities), it must also be supported by enough information to 24
allow the administering authority to make an assessment level decision for 25
the application. 26
`(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent the application being supported by 27
55 See also section 34KO (Restrictions on authority or transfer taking effect).
56 See also chapter 2D, part 1 (Integrated environmental authorities).
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other information that allows the administering authority to decide the 1
application.57 2
`(5) The requirements under this section are called the "application 3
requirements". 4
`Subdivision 2--Applications for mining projects 5
application required for mining project 6
`Single
`34EW.(1) This section applies to a person who may apply for an 7
environmental authority (mining activities) for mining activities proposed to 8
be carried out as a mining project. 9
`(2) The person may only make a single application for 1 environmental 10
authority (mining activities) for all mining activities that form the project. 11
`(3) The application must-- 12
(a) comply with subdivision 1; and 13
(b) state-- 14
(i) each type of environmental authority (mining activities) 15
applied for; and 16
(ii) whether each stated type is proposed to be a standard or 17
non-standard environmental authority (mining activities). 18
`(4) If any relevant mining tenement for the application is a mining claim 19
or mining lease, part 6, divisions 6 to 8 must be complied with for the 20
whole application.58 21
`(5) If the administering authority grants the application, it may issue-- 22
(a) 1 environmental authority (mining activities) for all the activities 23
57 For when the other information must be given, see sections 34GE (Environmental
management plan--content requirements) and 34GS (EMOS--content
requirements).
58 Subdivision 1 (General provisions about applications)
Part 6, divisions 6 (Public notice and objections stage for all applications),
7 (Decision stage) and 8 (Miscellaneous provisions)
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(a "project authority"); or 1
(b) 2 or more environmental authorities (mining activities) for the 2
activities.59 3
`(6) A project authority must-- 4
(a) state each type of environmental authority (mining activities) that 5
forms the project authority; and 6
(b) identify the conditions applying to each type. 7
`(7) For applying parts 7 to 13 to a project authority, each type of 8
environmental authority (mining activities) that forms the project authority 9
is taken to be an environmental authority (mining activities) of that type. 10
environmental authority required for mining project 11
`Single
`34EX.(1) This section applies if an environmental authority (mining 12
activities) has been granted for a mining project. 13
`(2) The holder of the authority can not apply for a separate 14
environmental authority (mining activities) for an additional mining activity 15
proposed to be carried out as part of the mining project. 16
`(3) Subsection (2) applies whether or not the additional activity is 17
proposed to be carried out under another mining tenement as part of the 18
mining project. 19
`(4) This section does not prevent the holder from applying to amend or 20
replace the authority. 21
`Subdivision 3--Joint applications 22
of sdiv 3 23
`Application
`34EY. This subdivision applies if 2 or more persons ("joint 24
applicants") jointly apply for 1 or more environmental authorities (mining 25
activities). 26
59 See also chapter 2D, part 1 (Integrated environmental authorities)..
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application may be made 1
`Joint
`34EZ.(1) The administering authority may accept an application 2
(a "joint application") made for all the joint applicants by a person who is 3
a joint applicant if it is satisfied the person is authorised to make the 4
application for each of the joint applicants. 5
`(2) More than 1 joint application may be made by the person for the 6
same joint applicants. 7
of principal applicant 8
`Appointment
`34FA.(1) The joint applicants may appoint 1 of them as the principal 9
applicant for a joint application made by them. 10
`(2) However, the appointment may be made only-- 11
(a) in the joint application; or 12
(b) by a signed notice from all the joint applicants to the 13
administering authority. 14
`(3) The joint applicants may, by a signed notice from all of them to the 15
authority, cancel the appointment. 16
of appointment 17
`Effect
`34FB. If a person holds an appointment as the principal applicant for a 18
joint application-- 19
(a) the principal applicant may, for all applicants for the application, 20
give or submit to the administering authority a notice or other 21
document relating to the application; and 22
(b) the authority may-- 23
(i) give a notice or other document relating to the application to 24
all the applicants, by giving it to the principal applicant; or 25
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(ii) make a requirement under this chapter relating to the 1
application of all the applicants, by making it of the principal 2
applicant.60 3
`Division 3--Assessment level decision for certain applications 4
of div 3 5
`Operation
`34FC.(1) This division provides for a decision (the "assessment level 6
decision") about the level at which an application for the following is to be 7
assessed-- 8
(a) an environmental authority (exploration); 9
(b) an environmental authority (mineral development); 10
(c) an environmental authority (mining lease). 11
`(2) Subject to section 34FG,61 the administering authority must make 12
the assessment level decision. 13
level decision 14
`Assessment
`34FD.(1) The administering authority must, within the period 15
prescribed under a regulation, decide whether the application is a standard or 16
non-standard application. 17
`(2) The authority may decide the application is a standard application 18
only if it considers-- 19
(a) each relevant mining activity is a standard mining activity; and 20
(b) there are relevant standard environmental conditions. 21
`(3) However, the application must be decided as a non-standard 22
application if-- 23
(a) the application is for a mining project; and 24
60 See also part 13, division 4 (Principal holder of authority).
61 Section 34FG (Ministerial decision about assessment level)
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(b) the authority decides any proposed mining activity that forms part 1
of the project is not a standard mining activity. 2
of failure to decide 3
`Consequence
`34FE.(1) This section applies if the administering authority does not 4
make the assessment level decision within the period prescribed under 5
section 34FD(1). 6
`(2) If the application is for a standard authority, the authority is taken to 7
have decided the application is a standard application. 8
`(3) If the application is for a non-standard authority, the authority is 9
taken to have decided the application is a non-standard application. 10
about EIS requirement 11
`Decision
`34FF.(1) If the application is decided to be a non-standard application, 12
the administering authority must, within the period prescribed under a 13
regulation, decide whether an EIS is required for the application. 14
`(2) The authority must, in making the decision, consider the standard 15
criteria. 16
`(3) If the authority does not make the decision within the prescribed 17
period, it is taken, at the end of the period, to have decided that no EIS is 18
required. 19
decision about assessment level 20
`Ministerial
`34FG.(1) This section applies despite any decision by the administering 21
authority under this division. 22
`(2) The EPA Minister may, at any time before an environmental 23
authority is issued for the application, make the assessment level decision. 24
`(3) If the Minister decides the application is a non-standard application, 25
the Minister must decide-- 26
(a) whether there is to be an EIS requirement for the application; and 27
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(b) at what stage, or step within a stage, under part 5 or 662 the 1
processing of the application must start or resume. 2
`(4) However, the stage or step must not be after the giving of the draft 3
environmental authority. 4
`(5) The deciding of the application must start or resume at the stage or 5
step decided by the Minister. 6
`(6) The Minister must, in making a decision under this section, consider 7
the standard criteria. 8
for non-standard applications 9
`Notice
`34FH.(1) This section applies if the assessment level decision is that the 10
application is a non-standard application. 11
`(2) The administering authority must, within 10 business days after the 12
decision is made, give the applicant a written notice stating-- 13
(a) that the application is to be assessed as a non-standard application; 14
and 15
(b) whether or not an EIS is required for the application; and 16
(c) if the Minister made the decision the stage or step within a stage 17
decided by the Minister in the process under part 5 or 6 for the 18
processing of the application to start or resume. 19
62 Part 5 (Processing environmental authority (Exploration) and environmental
authority (Mineral development) applications) or 6 (Processing environmental
authority (Mining lease) applications)
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`PART 3--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL 1
AUTHORITY (PROSPECTING) APPLICATIONS 2
of pt 3 3
`Operation
`34FI. This part provides for the process to assess an environmental 4
authority (prospecting) application. 5
application 6
`Deciding
`34FJ.(1) The administering authority must, within the period prescribed 7
under a regulation, consider the application and decide either to grant or 8
refuse it. 9
`(2) In making the decision, the authority must consider the following-- 10
(a) the standard criteria; 11
(b) the applicant's ability to comply with the relevant standard 12
environmental conditions; 13
(c) any suitability report obtained for the application; 14
(d) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for 15
each relevant prospecting permit. 16
of failure to decide 17
`Consequence
`34FK. The administering authority is taken to have decided to grant the 18
application if at the end of the period prescribed under a regulation-- 19
(a) the application requirements have been complied with for the 20
application; and 21
(b) the authority has not decided to refuse the application. 22
of application 23
`Grant
`34FL.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application it 24
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, issue the 25
environmental authority in the approved form. 26
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`(2) The environmental authority must-- 1
(a) contain the relevant standard environmental conditions; or 2
(b) identify the conditions by reference to their gazettal or to a code of 3
environmental compliance in which they are contained. 4
`(3) The environmental authority must not contain a condition other than 5
a relevant standard environmental condition. 6
`(4) The administering authority must insert the environmental authority 7
in the appropriate register and give the applicant a copy of the environmental 8
authority within 10 business days after the later of the following events 9
happens-- 10
(a) the making of the decision; 11
(b) the granting of each relevant prospecting permit. 12
of refusal 13
`Notice
`34FM. If the administering authority decides to refuse the application, it 14
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicant 15
a written notice stating-- 16
(a) the decision, and the reasons for it; and 17
(b) that the refusal does not stop the applicant from applying for 18
another type of environmental authority (mining activities) for the 19
activities the subject of the application. 20
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`PART 4--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL 1
AUTHORITY (MINING CLAIM) APPLICATIONS 2
`Division 1--Preliminary 3
of pt 4 4
`Operation
`34FN. This part provides for the process to assess an environmental 5
authority (mining claim) application. 6
2--Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed 7
`Division
authority may refuse application 8
`Administering
`34FO.(1) The administering authority must, within the period 9
prescribed under a regulation (the "refusal period"), consider the 10
application and decide either to refuse it or allow it to proceed under 11
divisions 3 and 4.63 12
`(2) The authority must, in making the decision, consider the following-- 13
(a) the standard criteria; 14
(b) the applicant's ability to comply with the relevant standard 15
environmental conditions; 16
(c) any suitability report obtained for the application; 17
(d) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for 18
each relevant mining tenement. 19
of refusal 20
`Notice
`34FP. If the administering authority decides to refuse the application, it 21
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicant 22
63 Divisions 3 (Draft environmental authority stage) and 4 (Public notice, objection
and decision stage)
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a written notice stating-- 1
(a) the decision, and the reasons for it; and 2
(b) that the refusal does not stop the applicant from applying for 3
another type of environmental authority (mining activities) for the 4
activities the subject of the application. 5
`Division 3--Draft environmental authority stage 6
to prepare draft environmental authority 7
`Obligation
`34FQ.(1) This section applies if the administering authority does not, 8
within the refusal period, decide to refuse the application. 9
`(2) The authority must give the applicant and the mining registrar a draft 10
environmental authority within the period prescribed under a regulation. 11
`(3) The draft must-- 12
(a) be in the approved form; and 13
(b) contain the relevant standard environmental conditions or identify 14
them by reference to their gazettal or to a code of environmental 15
compliance in which they are contained; and 16
(c) comply with this division. 17
conditions may be included 18
`Additional
`34FR.(1) The applicant may, before the draft is given, ask the 19
administering authority to include an additional condition in the draft.64 20
`(2) The request must be-- 21
(a) made in the application or in the approved form; and 22
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 23
whether to include the additional condition; and 24
64 See section 34HF(2) (Right to make objection), as it is applied by section 34FS
(Mining lease process under pt 6, divs 68 applies).
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(c) be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 1
`(3) In deciding whether to include an additional condition the authority 2
must-- 3
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 4
(b) subject to paragraph (a)--consider the standard criteria. 5
`(4) However, an additional condition may be included only if the 6
authority considers-- 7
(a) the condition is necessary or desirable; and 8
(b) that, if the condition is included, the relevant mining activity 9
would still be a standard mining activity. 10
`(5) An additional condition may be included even if the applicant did not 11
ask for it. 12
4--Public notice, objection and decision stage 13
`Division
lease process under pt 6, divs 68 applies 14
`Mining
`34FS.(1) The process to assess an environmental authority (mining 15
lease) application under part 6, divisions 6 to 8 applies to the application, as 16
if-- 17
(a) the application were an environmental authority (mining lease) 18
application; and 19
(b) a reference to an environmental authority (mining lease) were a 20
reference to an environmental authority (mining claim); and 21
(c) a reference to the relevant mining lease application were a 22
reference to the relevant mining claim application; and 23
(d) the reference in section 34HA(2)(a) to the giving and publication 24
of a certificate of public notice were a reference to the actions 25
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under the Mineral Resources Act, section 64B(2)(a) and (c).65 1
`(2) The process applies with any other necessary changes. 2
`PART 5--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL 3
AUTHORITY (EXPLORATION) AND 4
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY (MINERAL 5
DEVELOPMENT) APPLICATIONS 6
`Division 1--Preliminary 7
of pt 5 8
`Operation
`34FT. This part provides for the process to assess-- 9
(a) an environmental authority (exploration) application; or 10
(b) an environmental authority (mineral development) application. 11
`Division 2--Standard applications 12
of div 2 13
`Application
`34FU. This division applies if the application is a standard application. 14
conditions may be imposed 15
`Additional
`34FV.(1) The administering authority may, in granting the application, 16
impose an additional condition on the environmental authority. 17
65 Part 6, divisions 6 (Public notice and objections stage for all applications),
7 (Decision stage) and 8 (Miscellaneous provisions)
Section 34HA (Public notice of application)
Mineral Resources Act, section 64B (Applicant's obligations for certificate of
public notice)
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`(2) The applicant may ask the authority to impose an additional 1
condition. 2
`(3) The request must be-- 3
(a) made in the application or in the approved form; and 4
(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 5
whether to impose the additional condition; and 6
(c) be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 7
`(4) In deciding whether to impose an additional condition the authority 8
must-- 9
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 10
(b) subject to paragraph (a)--consider the standard criteria. 11
`(5) However, an additional condition may be imposed only if the 12
authority considers-- 13
(a) the condition is necessary or desirable; and 14
(b) that, if the condition is imposed, the relevant mining activity 15
would still be a standard mining activity. 16
`(6) An additional condition may be imposed even if the applicant did not 17
ask for it. 18
application 19
`Deciding
`34FW.(1) The administering authority must, within the period 20
prescribed under a regulation, consider the application and decide whether-- 21
(a) to grant or refuse the application; and 22
(b) to impose any additional condition. 23
`(2) In making the decisions, the authority must consider the following-- 24
(a) the application documents for the application; 25
(b) the standard criteria; 26
(c) the applicant's ability to comply with the relevant standard 27
environmental conditions; 28
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(d) any suitability report obtained for the application; 1
(e) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for 2
each relevant mining tenement. 3
of failure to decide 4
`Consequence
`34FX.(1) The administering authority is taken to have decided to grant 5
the application at the end of the period prescribed under section 34FW(1) 6
if-- 7
(a) the application requirements have been complied with for the 8
application; and 9
(b) the authority has not decided to refuse the application. 10
`(2) Also, if the applicant asked for an additional condition, the 11
administering authority is taken to have decided to impose the condition on 12
the environmental authority if the administering authority has not decided to 13
refuse the request. 14
`(3) This section ceases to apply and is taken never to have applied if, 15
under section 34FG,66 the EPA Minister decides the application is a 16
non-standard application. 17
of application 18
`Grant
`34FY.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 19
it must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, issue the 20
environmental authority in the approved form. 21
`(2) The environmental authority must-- 22
(a) either-- 23
(i) contain the standard environmental conditions for each 24
relevant mining activity; or 25
(ii) identify the conditions by reference to their gazettal or to a 26
code of environmental compliance in which they are 27
contained; and 28
66 Section 34FG (Ministerial decision about assessment level)
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(b) contain any additional condition imposed. 1
`(3) The administering authority must insert the environmental authority 2
in the appropriate register and give the applicant a copy of the environmental 3
authority within 10 business days after the later of the following events 4
happens-- 5
(a) the making of the decision; 6
(b) the granting of each relevant mining tenement for the application. 7
about refusal or condition decision 8
`Notice
`34FZ.(1) This section applies if the administering authority decides-- 9
(a) to refuse the application; or 10
(b) to impose an additional condition on the environmental authority 11
and the condition is not the same, or to the same effect, as an 12
additional condition agreed to or requested by the applicant; or 13
(c) to refuse to impose an additional condition requested by the 14
applicant. 15
`(2) The administering authority must, within 10 business days after the 16
decision is made, give the applicant a written notice stating-- 17
(a) the decision, and the reasons for it; and 18
(b) that the decision does not stop the applicant from applying for 19
another environmental authority (mining activities) for the 20
activities the subject of the application. 21
`Division 3--Non-standard applications 22
1--Preliminary 23
`Subdivision
of div 3 24
`Application
`34GA. This division applies if the application is a non-standard 25
application. 26
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2--EIS stage 1
`Subdivision
process applies 2
`EIS
`34GB.(1) If an EIS requirement has been made for the application, the 3
EIS process must be completed.67 4
`(2) The process may proceed whether or not the applicant has submitted 5
an environmental management plan under subdivision 3. 6
`Subdivision 3--Environmental management document stage 7
management plan required 8
`Environmental
`34GC.(1) The applicant must submit to the administering authority an 9
environmental management plan for all relevant mining activities. 10
`(2) If an EIS requirement has been made for the application, the plan 11
may be submitted whether or not the EIS process has been completed. 12
of environmental management plan 13
`Purpose
`34GD. The purpose of an environmental management plan is to 14
propose environmental protection commitments to help the administering 15
authority decide the conditions of the environmental authority. 16
management plan--content requirements 17
`Environmental
`34GE.(1) An environmental management plan must-- 18
(a) be in the approved form; and 19
(b) describe the following-- 20
(i) each relevant mining tenement; 21
(ii) all relevant mining activities; 22
67 For completion of the EIS process, see section 34AW (When process is
completed).
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(iii) the land on which the mining activities are to be carried out; 1
(iv) the environmental values likely to be affected by the mining 2
activities; 3
(v) the potential adverse and beneficial impacts of the mining 4
activities on the environmental values; and 5
(c) state the environmental protection commitments the applicant 6
proposes for the mining activities to protect and enhance the 7
environmental values under best practice environmental 8
management; and 9
(d) contain enough other information to allow the administering 10
authority to decide the application and conditions to be imposed 11
on the environmental authority; and 12
(e) another matter prescribed under an environmental protection 13
policy or a regulation. 14
`(2) The environmental protection commitments must-- 15
(a) be stated in a way that allows them to be measured and to be 16
audited under part 11; and 17
(b) state the environmental protection objectives and the standards 18
and measurable indicators, including, for example, objectives for 19
progressive and final rehabilitation and management of 20
contaminated land; and 21
(c) include-- 22
(i) an action program to ensure the commitments are achieved 23
or implemented, including, for example, programs for the 24
following in relation to the mining activities-- 25
· continuous improvement 26
· environmental auditing 27
· monitoring 28
· reporting 29
· staff training; and 30
(ii) a rehabilitation program for land proposed to be disturbed 31
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under each relevant mining tenement. 1
`(3) The rehabilitation program must state a proposed amount of financial 2
assurance. 3
environmental management plan 4
`Amending
`34GF.(1) This section applies if the applicant has submitted an 5
environmental management plan for the application (the "original plan"). 6
`(2) The applicant may amend or replace the original plan before the 7
assessment period under section 34GG(2) ends. 8
`(3) However, an amendment may be made only by giving the 9
administering authority a written notice stating the amendment (an 10
"EM plan amendment notice"). 11
`(4) An EM plan amendment notice must be accompanied by the fee 12
prescribed under a regulation. 13
`(5) The submitted environmental management plan is taken to be the 14
original plan, as amended from time to time by any EM plan amendment 15
notice given for the original plan. 16
plan assessment report may be prepared 17
`EM
`34GG.(1) The administering authority may give the applicant an 18
assessment report (an "EM plan assessment report") about a submitted 19
environmental management plan. 20
`(2) However, an EM plan assessment report may be given only within 21
the period prescribed under a regulation (the "assessment period"). 22
`(3) An EM plan assessment report may be included in an EIS 23
assessment report for a project that includes a relevant mining activity. 24
for EM plan assessment report 25
`Requirements
`34GH. In making an EM plan assessment report, the administering 26
authority must-- 27
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 28
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(b) subject to paragraph (a), consider-- 1
(i) the submitted environmental management plan; and 2
(ii) whether the plan complies with the content requirements 3
under section 34GE;68 and 4
(iii) the standard criteria. 5
`Subdivision 4--Decision stage 6
application 7
`Deciding
`34GI.(1) The administering authority must, within the period prescribed 8
under a regulation, consider the application and decide either to grant or 9
refuse it. 10
`(2) The authority may, in granting the application, impose the conditions 11
on the environmental authority it considers necessary or desirable. 12
`(3) In deciding whether to grant or refuse the application or to impose a 13
condition the authority must-- 14
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 15
(b) subject to paragraph (a), consider the following-- 16
(i) the application documents for the application; 17
(ii) the standard criteria; 18
(iii) any suitability report obtained for the application; 19
(iv) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources 20
Act for each relevant mining tenement. 21
of application 22
`Grant
`34GJ.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 23
it must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, issue the 24
environmental authority. 25
68 Section 34GE (Environmental management plan--content requirements)
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`(2) The environmental authority must be-- 1
(a) in the approved form; and 2
(b) contain all conditions imposed on the environmental authority. 3
`(3) The administering authority must insert the environmental authority 4
in the appropriate register and give the applicant a copy of the environmental 5
authority within 10 business days after the later of the following events 6
happens-- 7
(a) the making of the decision; 8
(b) the granting of each relevant mining tenement for the application. 9
notice about refusal or condition decision 10
`Information
`34GK.(1) This section applies if the administering authority decides-- 11
(a) to refuse the application; or 12
(b) to impose a condition and it is not the same, or to the same effect, 13
as any condition agreed to by the applicant. 14
`(2) The authority must, within 10 business days after the decision is 15
made, give the applicant an information notice about the decision. 16
`PART 6--PROCESSING ENVIRONMENTAL 17
AUTHORITY (MINING LEASE) APPLICATIONS 18
`Division 1--Preliminary 19
of pt 6 20
`Operation
`34GL. This part provides the process to assess an environmental 21
authority (mining lease) application. 22
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of pt 6 process 1
`Summary
`34GM.(1) The stages for deciding the application and the main steps 2
within each stage are stated in subsection (3). 3
`(2) However, if the application is a standard application only stages 3 4
to 6 apply. 5
`(3) For subsection (1), the stages are as follows-- 6
stage 1 EIS--div 2 and ch 2A, pt 1
If an EIS requirement has been made for the application, the
EIS process must be completed.
stage 2 Environmental management document--div 3
1. The applicant must submit an EMOS.
2. The administering authority may give the applicant an
EMOS assessment report, whether or not stage 1 has
been completed.
stage 3 Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed--div 4
1. The administering authority must, within the refusal
period, decide either to refuse the application or to allow it
to proceed under stages 4 to 6.
2. A refusal decision for a non-standard application is
subject to review and to appeal to the tribunal under
chapter 6, part 3.
3. If no refusal decision is made within the refusal period,
stages 4 to 6 apply.
stage 4 Draft environmental authority--div 5
1. The administering authority gives the applicant a draft
environmental authority that includes proposed
conditions.
2. If the application is a standard application, the relevant
standard environmental conditions must be included.
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stage 5 Public notice and objections--div 6
1. The applicant gives public notice of the application
documents for the application.
2. The administering authority receives, within the objection
period, any objections to the application documents.
stage 6 Decision stage--div 7
(a) If there are objections--div 7, sdiv 1
If there are any current objections when the objection period
ends--
1. The objections are referred to the tribunal.
2. The tribunal makes a recommendation about the
application to the MRA Minister.
3. The EPA Minister decides the application.
(b) If no objections or objections are withdrawn--div 7,
sdiv 2
The environmental authority must be issued on the basis of the
draft environmental authority if--
1. There are no current objections when the objection period
ends; or
2. All objections are withdrawn before the tribunal makes its
recommendation.
2--EIS stage for non-standard applications 1
`Division
of div 2 2
`Application
`34GN. This division applies only if the application is a non-standard 3
application and an EIS requirement has been made for the application. 4
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process applies 1
`EIS
`34GO.(1) The EIS process must be completed.69 2
`(2) The process may proceed whether or not the applicant has submitted 3
an EMOS under division 3. 4
3--Environmental management document stage for 5
`Division
non-standard applications 6
of div 3 7
`Application
`34GP. This division applies only if the application is a non-standard 8
application. 9
required 10
`EMOS
`34GQ.(1) The applicant must submit to the administering authority an 11
EMOS for all relevant mining activities (the "submitted EMOS"). 12
`(2) If an EIS requirement has been made for the application, the EMOS 13
may be submitted whether or not the EIS process has been completed. 14
urpose of EMOS 15
`P
`34GR. The purpose of an EMOS is to propose environmental 16
protection commitments to help the administering authority prepare the draft 17
environmental authority for the application. 18
requirements 19
`EMOS--content
`34GS.(1) A submitted EMOS must-- 20
(a) be in the approved form; and 21
(b) describe the following-- 22
69 For completion of the EIS process, see section 34AW (When process is
completed).
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(i) each relevant mining lease; 1
(ii) all relevant mining activities; 2
(iii) the land on which the mining activities are to be carried out; 3
(iv) the environmental values likely to be affected by the mining 4
activities; 5
(v) the potential adverse and beneficial impacts of the mining 6
activities on the environmental values; and 7
(c) state the environmental protection commitments the applicant 8
proposes for the mining activities to protect and enhance the 9
environmental values under best practice environmental 10
management; and 11
(d) contain enough other information to allow the administering 12
authority to decide the application and conditions to be imposed 13
on the environmental authority; and 14
(e) another matter prescribed under an environmental protection 15
policy or a regulation. 16
`(2) The environmental protection commitments must-- 17
(a) be stated in a way that allows them to be measured and to be 18
audited under part 11; and 19
(b) state the environmental protection objectives and the standards 20
and measurable indicators, including, for example, objectives for 21
progressive and final rehabilitation and management of 22
contaminated land; and 23
(c) include control strategies to ensure the objectives are achieved, 24
including for example, strategies in relation to the mining 25
activities-- 26
· continuous improvement 27
· environmental auditing 28
· monitoring 29
· reporting 30
· staff training. 31
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mending EMOS 1
`A
`34GT.(1) This section applies if there is a submitted EMOS for the 2
application. 3
`(2) The applicant may amend or replace the submitted EMOS at any 4
time before the refusal period ends. 5
`(3) However, an amendment may be made only by giving the 6
administering authority a written notice stating the amendment (an "EMOS 7
amendment notice"). 8
`(4) An EMOS amendment notice must be accompanied by the fee 9
prescribed under a regulation. 10
`(5) The submitted EMOS is taken to be the original EMOS, as amended 11
from time to time by any EMOS amendment notice given for the original 12
EMOS. 13
assessment report may be prepared 14
`EMOS
`34GU.(1) The administering authority may give the applicant an 15
assessment report (an "EMOS assessment report") about a submitted 16
EMOS. 17
`(2) However, an EMOS assessment report may be given only within 18
the period prescribed under a regulation (the "assessment period"). 19
`(3) An EMOS assessment report may be included in an EIS assessment 20
report for a project that includes a relevant mining activity. 21
for EMOS assessment report 22
`Requirements
`34GV.(1) In making an EMOS assessment report, the administering 23
authority must-- 24
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 25
(b) subject to paragraph (a), consider-- 26
(i) the submitted EMOS; and 27
(ii) whether the EMOS complies with the content requirements 28
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under section 34GS;70 and 1
(iii) the standard criteria. 2
4--Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed 3
`Division
authority may refuse application 4
`Administering
`34GW.(1) The administering authority must, within the period 5
prescribed under a regulation (the "refusal period"), consider the 6
application and decide either to refuse it or allow it to proceed under 7
divisions 5 to 7.71 8
`(2) The authority must, in making the decision, consider the following-- 9
(a) the application documents for the application; 10
(b) the standard criteria; and 11
(c) if the application is a standard application--the applicant's ability 12
to comply with the relevant standard environmental conditions; 13
(d) any suitability report obtained for the application; 14
(e) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for 15
each relevant mining tenement. 16
`(3) If the decision is to refuse the application, the authority must, within 17
10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicant-- 18
(a) if the application is a standard application--a written notice stating 19
the decision and the reasons for it; or 20
(b) if the application is a non-standard application--an information 21
notice about the decision. 22
70 Section 34GS (EMOS--content requirements)
71 Divisions 5 (Draft environmental authority stage), 6 (Public notice and
objections stage for all applications) and 7 (Decision stage)
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`Division 5--Draft environmental authority stage 1
to prepare draft environmental authority 2
`Obligation
`34GX.(1) This section applies if the administering authority does not, 3
within the refusal period, decide to refuse the application. 4
`(2) The authority must give the applicant and the mining registrar a draft 5
environmental authority within the later of the following periods to end-- 6
(a) 5 business days after the refusal period ends; 7
(b) if additional conditions have been requested under 8
section 34GY--10 business days after the last request for 9
additional conditions was made; 10
(c) if the applicant and the authority have, within the later of the 11
periods under paragraph (a) or (b) to end, agreed to a longer 12
period for the preparation of the draft--the longer period. 13
`(3) The draft must-- 14
(a) be in the approved form; and 15
(b) include proposed conditions for the environmental authority; and 16
(c) comply with this division. 17
applications 18
`Conditions--standard
`34GY.(1) This section applies if the application is a standard application. 19
`(2) The administering authority must in the draft environmental 20
authority-- 21
(a) include the relevant standard environmental conditions; or 22
(b) identify the conditions by reference to their gazettal or to a code of 23
environmental compliance in which they are contained. 24
`(3) The applicant may, before the draft is given, ask the authority to 25
include an additional condition in the draft. 26
`(4) The request must be-- 27
(a) made in the application or in the approved form; and 28
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(b) supported by enough information to allow the authority to decide 1
whether to include the additional condition; and 2
(c) be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation.72 3
`(5) In deciding whether to include an additional condition the authority 4
must-- 5
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 6
(b) subject to paragraph (a)--consider the standard criteria. 7
`(6) However, an additional condition may be included only if the 8
authority considers-- 9
(a) the condition is necessary or desirable; and 10
(b) that, if the condition is included, the relevant mining activity 11
would still be a standard mining activity. 12
`(7) An additional condition may be included even if the applicant did not 13
ask for it. 14
applications 15
`Conditions--non-standard
`34GZ.(1) This section applies if the application is a non-standard 16
application. 17
`(2) The administering authority may include conditions in the draft 18
environmental authority it considers necessary or desirable. 19
`(3) In fixing proposed conditions for the draft, the administering 20
authority must-- 21
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 22
(b) subject to paragraph (a), consider-- 23
(i) the application documents for the application; and 24
(ii) the standard criteria. 25
72 See section 34HF(2) (Right to make objection).
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6--Public notice and objections stage for all applications 1
`Division
notice of application 2
`Public
`34HA.(1) The applicant must give and publish a notice about the 3
application (the "application notice"). 4
`(2) The application notice must be given and published-- 5
(a) simultaneously or together with, and in the same way as, the 6
certificate of public notice for the relevant mining lease application 7
under the Mineral Resources Act, section 252B;73 and 8
(b) in another way prescribed under a regulation. 9
`(3) Also, the administering authority may decide an additional or 10
substituted way to give or publish the application notice if it gives the 11
applicant an information notice about the decision before the application 12
notice is given. 13
`(4) This section is subject to section 34HE.74 14
content of application notice 15
`Required
`34HB.(1) The application notice must be in the approved form and state 16
the following-- 17
(a) a description of each relevant mining activity; 18
(b) the land on which the mining activities are to be carried out; 19
(c) what are the application documents for the application; 20
(d) where the application documents may be inspected;75 21
(e) where copies of, or extracts from, the application documents may 22
be obtained; 23
73 Mineral Resources Act, section 252B (Issue of certificate of public notice)
74 Section 34HE (Substantial compliance may be accepted)
75 See sections 34HC (Public access to application documents), 213 (Required
registers) and 214 (Inspection of register).
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(f) who has the right to make an objection under section 34HF; 1
(g) the period (the "objection period") during which objections may 2
be given; 3
(h) how to make a properly made objection; 4
(i) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 5
`(2) The objection period must end on-- 6
(a) if there is only 1 relevant mining tenement application--the last 7
objection day under the Mineral Resources Act for the application; 8
or 9
(b) if there is more than 1 relevant mining tenement application--the 10
later of the last objection days under the Mineral Resources Act 11
for the applications.76 12
`(3) This section is subject to section 34HE. 13
access to application documents 14
`Public
`34HC. The administering authority must, within the objection period-- 15
(a) keep the application documents for the application open for public 16
inspection at the authority's head office during office hours on 17
business days; and 18
(b) permit a person to take extracts from the application documents 19
for the application or, on payment of the appropriate fee to the 20
authority, give the person a copy of the documents, or a part of 21
the documents. 22
of compliance 23
`Declaration
`34HD.(1) The applicant must, within 5 business days after the objection 24
period starts, give the administering authority a statutory declaration 25
declaring whether or not the applicant has complied with the notice 26
requirements under section 34HA and 34HB (the "public notice 27
76 For the last objection day under the Mineral Resources Act, see section 252A
(Issue of certificate of public notice) of that Act.
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requirements"). 1
`(2) A copy of the application notice must be attached to the declaration. 2
`(3) The applicant is taken to have complied with the public notice 3
requirements if-- 4
(a) a declaration is given under this section; and 5
(b) the declaration states the applicant has complied with the 6
requirements. 7
compliance may be accepted 8
`Substantial
`34HE.(1) If the applicant has not complied with the public notice 9
requirements, the administering authority must, before the objection period 10
ends, decide whether to allow the application to proceed under this part as if 11
the noncompliance had not happened. 12
`(2) The authority may decide to allow the application to proceed only if it 13
is satisfied there has been substantial compliance with the public notice 14
requirements. 15
`(3) If the authority decides not to allow the application to proceed-- 16
(a) any steps purportedly taken to comply with the public notice 17
requirements are of no effect; and 18
(b) the authority must, within 10 business days after the decision is 19
made-- 20
(i) fix a substituted way to give or publish the application notice 21
and give the applicant a written notice of the substituted way; 22
and 23
(ii) if the objection period under section 34HB has or will start 24
before the giving or publication of the substituted notice--fix 25
a new objection period for the application and give the 26
applicant written notice of the period; and 27
(iii) give the applicant an information notice about the decision. 28
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`(4) The stated substituted way to give or publish the application notice 1
applies instead of the requirements for giving or publishing the notice under 2
section 34HA.77 3
to make objection 4
`Right
`34HF.(1) An entity may make an objection about-- 5
(a) the application; or 6
(b) the draft environmental authority for the application; or 7
(c) a condition included in the draft. 8
`(2) However, if the application is a standard application, the applicant 9
can not object to a condition included in the draft environmental authority. 10
`(3) An objection may be made only by giving it to the administering 11
authority. 12
of objections 13
`Acceptance
`34HG.(1) The administering authority must accept an objection if it-- 14
(a) is written; and 15
(b) is signed by or for each entity ("signatory") who made the 16
objection; and 17
(c) states the name of and an address for each signatory; and 18
(d) is made to the administering authority; and 19
(e) is received on or before the last day of the objection period; and 20
(f) states the grounds of the objection and the facts and circumstances 21
relied on in support of the grounds. 22
`(2) An objection that complies with subsection (1) is called a "properly 23
made objection". 24
`(3) The authority may accept a written objection even if it is not a 25
properly made objection. 26
77 Section 34HA (Public notice of application)
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or withdrawal of objection 1
`Amendment
`34HH.(1) If the administering authority has accepted an objection, the 2
entity who made the objection may, by written notice in the approved 3
form-- 4
(a) within the objection period, amend or replace the objection; or 5
(b) at any time before the objections decision is made, withdraw the 6
objection. 7
`(2) However, a notice may be given only as follows-- 8
(a) before the objection period ends--by giving it to the authority; 9
(b) after the objection period ends--by filing it with the tribunal and 10
giving the authority a copy. 11
7--Decision stage 12
`Division
`Subdivision 1--Referral to tribunal if current objection 13
to tribunal 14
`Referral
`34HI.(1) If there is a current objection to the application when the 15
objection period for the application ends, the administering authority must, 16
within 10 business days, refer the application to the tribunal for a decision 17
under this subdivision (the "objections decision"). 18
`(2) The referral must be made by filing with the registrar of the 19
tribunal-- 20
(a) a notice, in the approved form, referring the application to the 21
tribunal; and 22
(b) a copy of the application documents for the application and each 23
current objection. 24
`(3) The referral starts a proceeding before the tribunal for it to make the 25
objections decision. 26
`(4) The parties to the proceeding are as follows-- 27
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(a) the authority; 1
(b) the applicant; 2
(c) each objector for the application; 3
(d) anyone else decided by the tribunal. 4
`(5) The authority must, within 10 business days after making the 5
referral-- 6
(a) give the applicant a copy of the notice and each current objection; 7
and 8
(b) give each objector a copy of the notice. 9
decision hearing 10
`Objections
`34HJ.(1) The tribunal may, of its own initiative, make orders or 11
directions it considers appropriate for a hearing for the objections decision 12
(the "objections decision hearing"). 13
`(2) The orders or directions must, as much as practicable, ensure the 14
objections decision hearing happens as closely as possible to hearings under 15
the Mineral Resources Act for each relevant mining tenement. 16
`(3) The directions may include directions about the constitution of the 17
tribunal for the objections decision hearing. 18
`(4) This section is subject to the Land and Resources Tribunal Act 19
1999, section 40 and part 4, divisions 1 and 2.78 20
mediation of objections 21
`Tribunal
`34HK.(1) At any time before the objections decision is made, any party 22
to the proceeding may ask the tribunal to conduct or provide mediation for 23
the objector's objection. 24
`(2) The mediation must be conducted by the tribunal or a mediator 25
78 Land and Resources Tribunal Act 1999, section 40 (Specific requirements for
constituting tribunal for proceeding) and part 4 (Organisation and operation of
tribunal), divisions 1 (Sittings of tribunal) and 2 (Hearings)
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chosen by the tribunal.79 1
`(3) However, the mediation is subject to orders or directions made under 2
section 34HJ(4). 3
of objections decision 4
`Nature
`34HL.(1) The objections decision for the application must be a 5
recommendation to the MRA Minister that-- 6
(a) the application be granted on the basis of the draft environmental 7
authority for the application; or 8
(b) the application be granted, but on stated conditions that are 9
different to the conditions in the draft; or 10
(c) the application be refused. 11
`(2) The tribunal must give a copy of the decision to the EPA Minister as 12
soon as practicable after the decision is made. 13
to be considered for objections decision 14
`Matters
`34HM. In making the objections decision for the application, the 15
tribunal must consider the following-- 16
(a) the application documents for the application; 17
(b) any relevant EPP requirement; 18
(c) the standard criteria; 19
(d) each current objection; 20
(e) for a standard application--any relevant standard environmental 21
conditions; 22
(f) any suitability report obtained for the application; 23
(g) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for 24
each relevant mining tenement. 25
79 For the conduct of the mediation, see the Land and Resources Tribunal Act 1999,
sections 72 to 75.
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from MRA Minister about objections decision 1
`Advice
`34HN.(1) After the objections decision for the application has been 2
made, the EPA Minister must seek advice from the MRA Minister about 3
the decision. 4
`(2) The advice may be sought at the time and in the way the EPA 5
Minister considers appropriate. 6
`(3) The MRA Minister may give the advice sought only within the later 7
of the following periods to end-- 8
(a) 10 business days after the EPA Minister seeks the advice; 9
(b) if the MRA Minister and the EPA Minister have, within the 10
10 business days, agreed to a longer period--the longer period. 11
`(4) In giving the advice sought, the MRA Minister may seek advice 12
from any entity. 13
`(5) A contravention of this section does not invalidate a decision under 14
section 34HO or an environmental authority granted under section 34HP to 15
which the decision relates. 16
Minister's decision on application 17
`EPA
`34HO.(1) The EPA Minister must make 1 of the following decisions 18
(the "Minister's decision")-- 19
(a) that the application be granted on the basis of the draft 20
environmental authority for the application; 21
(b) that the application be granted, but on conditions stated in the 22
Minister's decision that are different to the conditions in the draft; 23
(c) that the application be refused. 24
`(2) The Minister's decision must be made within a reasonable period 25
after the end of the later period under section 34HN(3). 26
`(3) The Minister must, before making the decision consider-- 27
(a) the objections decision; and 28
(b) any conditions for the environmental authority recommended by 29
the coordinator-general under the State Development Act, 30
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section 29Y.80 1
`(4) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the Minister is not bound to 2
impose on the environmental authority a condition recommended under the 3
objections decision or a condition mentioned in subsection (3)(b). 4
`(5) The administering authority must, within 10 business days after the 5
decision is made, give the applicant a written notice stating the decision, and 6
the reasons for it. 7
of application 8
`Grant
`34HP.(1) This section applies if the Minister's decision is to grant the 9
application. 10
`(2) The administering authority must, within 10 business days after the 11
decision is made, issue the environmental authority in the approved form. 12
`(3) The environmental authority must-- 13
(a) include the Minister's decision; and 14
(b) contain the conditions decided by the Minister under 15
section 34HO. 16
`(4) The administering authority must insert the environmental authority 17
in the appropriate register and give the applicant a copy of the environmental 18
authority within 10 business days after the later of the following events 19
happens-- 20
(a) the making of the decision; 21
(b) the granting of each relevant mining tenement for the application. 22
80 State Development Act, part 4 (Environmental coordination) and section 29K
(Coordinator-General evaluates EIS, submissions other materials and prepares
report)
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2--Grant if no current objection at end of objection period 1
`Subdivision
or before objections decision 2
of sdiv 2 3
`Application
`34HQ. This subdivision applies if-- 4
(a) at the end of the objections period for the application there is no 5
current objection to the application; or 6
(b) after the objection period, but before the objections decision is 7
made, there are no longer any current objections. 8
of application on basis of draft environmental authority 9
`Grant
`34HR.(1) The administering authority must, within 10 business days, 10
issue the environmental authority in the approved form. 11
`(2) The conditions of the environmental authority must be the same, or 12
substantially the same, as the draft environmental authority for the 13
application. 14
`(3) The administering authority must insert the environmental authority 15
in the appropriate register and give the applicant a copy of the environmental 16
authority within 10 business days after the granting of each relevant mining 17
tenement for the application. 18
8--Miscellaneous provisions 19
`Division
an application 20
`Withdrawing
`34HS.(1) An application may, by written notice given to the 21
administering authority, be withdrawn by the applicant at any time before 22
the environmental authority is issued. 23
`(2) If the applicant withdraws the application the applicant must give 24
each entity who has made a current objection notice of the withdrawal. 25
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objections apply for later applications 1
`Certain
`34HT.(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) an environmental authority (mining activities) application is 3
withdrawn; and 4
(b) within 1 year after the withdrawal, the applicant makes a later 5
application; and 6
(c) each relevant mining activity for the later application is the same, 7
or substantially the same, as the withdrawn application. 8
`(2) Any properly made objection about the withdrawn application is 9
taken to be a properly made objection about the later application. 10
of noncompliance with application process 11
`Effects
`34HU.(1) This section applies to an application for an environmental 12
authority (mining activities) if the applicant-- 13
(a) does not comply with-- 14
(i) the application requirements; or 15
(ii) a requirement under a relevant process under this part for 16
assessing the application; or 17
(b) becomes entitled to take the next step under the process and has 18
not taken the step. 19
`(2) The following are suspended until the requirement is complied with 20
or the step is taken-- 21
(a) the application; 22
(b) any obligation under this part in relation to the application 23
imposed on the administering authority, the tribunal or a Minister. 24
`(3) The application lapses on the later of the following days if the 25
requirement has not been complied with or the step has not been taken-- 26
(a) the first anniversary of the suspension; 27
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(b) if the applicant and the authority have, before the first anniversary, 1
agreed to a later day--the later day. 2
`(4) This section is subject to section 34HE.81 3
ART 7--PLAN OF OPERATIONS FOR 4
`P
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY (MINING LEASE) 5
of pt 7 6
`Application
`34HV. This part applies to an environmental authority (mining lease). 7
of operations required before acting under relevant mining lease 8
`Plan
`34HW.(1) The environmental authority holder must not carry out, or 9
allow the carrying out, of an activity under a relevant mining lease unless-- 10
(a) a plan of operations for all relevant mining activities has been 11
submitted to the administering authority; and 12
(b) at least 28 days, or a shorter period agreed in writing by the 13
administering authority, have passed since the plan was 14
submitted; and 15
(c) the plan complies with section 34HX; and 16
(d) the carrying out of the activity is-- 17
(i) consistent with the plan; and 18
(ii) done in a period to which the plan applies. 19
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 20
`(2) In this section-- 21
81 Section 34HE (Substantial compliance may be accepted)
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"plan of operations", for a mining lease, includes any plan of operations 1
submitted to the administering authority for a proposed mining lease 2
substantially the same as the mining lease. 3
requirements 4
`Content
`34HX.(1) A plan of operations must-- 5
(a) be in the approved form; and 6
(b) describe the following-- 7
(i) each relevant mining lease for the environmental authority; 8
(ii) the land to which each relevant mining lease applies; 9
(iii) the land to which the plan applies; and 10
(c) state the period to which the plan applies (the "plan period"); and 11
(d) include the following-- 12
(i) a plan showing where all activities are to be carried out on 13
the land; 14
(ii) an action program for-- 15
(A) if the environmental authority is a non-standard 16
environmental authority (mining activities)--achieving 17
or implementing the environmental protection 18
commitments and control strategies under the 19
submitted EMOS; and 20
(B) complying with the conditions of the environmental 21
authority; 22
(iii) a rehabilitation program for land disturbed or proposed to be 23
disturbed under each relevant mining lease; 24
(iv) another matter prescribed under an environmental protection 25
policy or a regulation; and 26
(e) be accompanied by-- 27
(i) an audit statement for the plan; and 28
(ii) the fee prescribed under a regulation. 29
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`(2) The rehabilitation program must state a proposed amount of financial 1
assurance for the plan period. 2
`(3) The audit statement must-- 3
(a) be made by or for the environmental authority holder; and 4
(b) state the extent to which the plan complies with the conditions of 5
the environmental authority; and 6
(c) state whether or not the amount of the financial assurance for the 7
environmental authority has been calculated in the way decided by 8
the administering authority under section 115(3).82 9
`(4) The plan period must not be more than 5 years. 10
`(5) A plan of operations may relate to 2 or more relevant mining leases. 11
or replacing plan 12
`Amending
`34HY.(1) This section applies if the environmental authority holder has 13
submitted a plan of operations (the "original plan") and the plan period for 14
the plan under section 34HX has not ended. 15
`(2) The holder may amend or replace the original plan at any time before 16
the plan period ends only by giving the administering authority a written 17
notice that-- 18
(a) states-- 19
(i) the amendment of the original plan; or 20
(ii) that the original plan is replaced; and 21
(b) is accompanied by-- 22
(i) for a replacement--the replacement plan; and 23
(ii) an audit statement for the original plan, as amended, or for 24
the replacement plan; and 25
(iii) the fee prescribed under a regulation. 26
`(3) The audit statement must comply with section 34HX(3). 27
82 Section 115 (When financial assurance may be required)
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`(4) The holder's submitted plan of operations is taken to be the original 1
plan, as amended from time to time by any amendment under this section. 2
`(5) However, an amendment must not extend the plan period. 3
`(6) The original plan ceases to apply if it is replaced. 4
`(7) A replacement plan may apply for any period of no more than 5
5 years from when notice of it is given under this section. 6
authority overrides plan 7
`Environmental
`34HZ.(1) This section applies if there is any inconsistency between the 8
environmental authority and a plan of operations. 9
`(2) The authority prevails to the extent of the inconsistency. 10
`(3) The environmental authority holder must, within 28 days after the 11
holder becomes aware of the inconsistency, cause the plan to be amended in 12
a way so that the plan is no longer inconsistent with the authority. 13
Maximum penalty for subsection (3)--100 penalty units. 14
ART 8--AMENDMENT OF AUTHORITIES BY 15
`P
APPLICATION 16
`Division 1--Preliminary 17
from amendment under pt 8 18
`Exclusions
`34IA.(1) An environmental authority (prospecting) can not be amended 19
under this part. 20
`(2) A condition of an environmental authority (mining activities) about 21
requiring a financial assurance can not be amended or discharged under this 22
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part.83 1
`(3) The requirements of this part do not apply for a partial surrender of 2
an environmental authority (mining activities) allowed by section 34JG.84 3
`Division 2--General provisions for amendment applications 4
may apply 5
`Who
`34IB. The holder of an environmental authority (mining activities) may, 6
at any time, apply to the administering authority to amend the environmental 7
authority (an "amendment application"). 8
conditions may be sought for standard authorities 9
`Additional
`34IC. An amendment application may seek additional conditions for the 10
environmental authority (mining activities) if it is a standard environmental 11
authority (mining activities). 12
for application 13
`Requirements
`34ID. An amendment application must be-- 14
(a) made in the approved form; and 15
(b) supported by enough information to allow the administering 16
authority to decide the application; and 17
(c) accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 18
83 See section 117 (Application for amendment or discharge of financial
assurance).
84 Section 34JG (Surrender may be partial)
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`Division 3--Processing amendment applications for standard 1
authorities 2
of div 3 3
`Application
`34IE. This division applies if an amendment application is for a 4
standard environmental authority (mining activities). 5
application 6
`Deciding
`34IF.(1) The administering authority must, within the period prescribed 7
under a regulation, decide either to grant or refuse the application. 8
`(2) The authority may grant the application only if-- 9
(a) it considers-- 10
(i) the amendment necessary or desirable; and 11
(ii) that, if the amendment were to be made, each relevant 12
mining activity would still be a standard mining activity; or 13
(b) the amendment is to reflect a change in the relevant standard 14
environmental conditions. 15
`(3) However, in making the decision, the authority must consider the 16
following-- 17
(a) the standard criteria; 18
(b) the applicant's ability to comply with the relevant standard 19
environmental conditions; 20
(c) any suitability report obtained for the application; 21
(d) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for, 22
or relating to, each relevant mining tenement. 23
`(4) The authority may refuse the application on the ground that it would 24
be more appropriate for the applicant to seek the amendment by replacement 25
of the environmental authority. 26
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of failure to decide 1
`Consequence
`34IG. The administering authority is taken to have decided to grant the 2
application at the end of the period prescribed under section 34IF(1) if-- 3
(a) the requirements under section 34ID have been complied with for 4
the application; and 5
(b) the authority has not decided to refuse the application. 6
after making decision 7
`Steps
`34IH.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, 8
it must, within 10 business days after the decision is made-- 9
(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 10
amendment; and 11
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register; 12
and 13
(c) give the applicant a copy of the amended environmental authority. 14
`(2) The amendment takes effect on the day of the amendment or a later 15
day stated in the amended environmental authority. 16
`(3) If the administering authority decides to refuse the application, it 17
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicant 18
a written notice stating-- 19
(a) the decision, and the reasons for it; and 20
(b) that the decision does not stop the applicant from applying for 21
another environmental authority (mining activities) for the 22
activities the subject of the application. 23
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`Division 4--Processing other amendment applications 1
1--Preliminary 2
`Subdivision
of div 4 3
`Application
`34II. This division applies if an amendment application is for a 4
non-standard environmental authority (mining activities). 5
`Subdivision 2--Assessment level decision 6
level and EIS decisions for application 7
`Assessment
`34IJ.(1) The administering authority must, within the period prescribed 8
under a regulation, decide-- 9
(a) whether, were the amendment to be made, the level of 10
environmental harm caused by any relevant mining activity is 11
likely to be significantly increased; and 12
(b) if the decision under paragraph (a) is that the level is likely to be 13
significantly increased--whether an EIS is required for the 14
proposed amendment. 15
`(2) The authority must, in making a decision under subsection (1) 16
consider the standard criteria. 17
`(3) The decision under subsection(1)(a) is called the "assessment level 18
decision" for the amendment application. 19
`(4) The decision under subsection (1)(b) is called the "EIS decision" 20
for the amendment application. 21
decision about assessment level and EIS decisions 22
`Ministerial
`34IK.(1) This section applies despite an assessment level decision by 23
the administering authority. 24
`(2) The EPA Minister may, at any time before the application is decided 25
under this division, make the assessment level decision. 26
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`(3) If the Minister's decision is that the level of environmental harm is 1
likely to be significantly increased, the Minister must also decide whether an 2
EIS is required for the proposed amendment. 3
`(4) If the Minister decides an EIS is not required, the Minister must 4
decide at what stage, or step within a stage, under the provisions applied 5
under section 34IO,85 the processing of the application must start or 6
resume. 7
`(5) However, the stage or step must not be after the giving of the draft 8
environmental authority for the amendment application. 9
`(6) The deciding of the application must start or resume at the stage or 10
step decided by the Minister. 11
`(7) The Minister must, in making a decision under this section, consider 12
the standard criteria. 13
refusal if EIS required 14
`Automatic
`34IL.(1) The administering authority must refuse the amendment 15
application if the EIS decision is that an EIS is required for the proposed 16
amendment. 17
`(2) The administering authority must, within 10 business days after the 18
decision is made, give the applicant a written notice stating-- 19
(a) the decision, and the reasons for it; and 20
(b) that the decision does not stop the applicant from applying for 21
another environmental authority (mining activities) for the 22
activities the subject of the application. 23
`(3) However, despite subsection (1), if the decision was made by the 24
administering authority and the Minister, under section 34IK(3), decides an 25
EIS is not required for the proposed amendment-- 26
(a) the refusal is taken to be of no effect; and 27
(b) the administering authority must, within 10 business days after 28
the Minister's decision is made, give the applicant a written notice 29
85 Section 34IO (Relevant application process applies)
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stating-- 1
(i) the Minister's decision; and 2
(ii) the stage, or step within a stage, that the Minister has under 3
section 34IK(4) decided the processing of the application 4
must start or resume. 5
of assessment level decision 6
`Notice
`34IM.(1) This section applies if the administering authority or the 7
Minister has made the assessment level decision and the EIS decision is that 8
an EIS is not required for the proposed amendment. 9
`(2) The authority must, within 10 business days, give the applicant a 10
written notice stating-- 11
(a) the assessment level decision, and the reasons for it; and 12
(b) if the Minister made the decision--the stage or step within a stage 13
decided by the Minister under the provisions applied under 14
section 34IO for the processing of the application to start or 15
resume. 16
`Subdivision 3--Process if decision is significant increase in 17
environmental harm likely and EIS not required 18
of sdiv 3 19
`Application
`34IN. This subdivision applies-- 20
(a) if the assessment level decision for the amendment application is 21
that the level of environmental harm is likely to be significantly 22
increased; and 23
(b) the EIS decision is that an EIS is not required for the proposed 24
amendment. 25
application process applies 26
`Relevant
`34IO.(1) If the environmental authority is an environmental authority 27
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(exploration) or an environmental authority (mineral development), part 5, 1
division 3, subdivisions 3 and 4, apply as if the application were an 2
application for that type of environmental authority. 3
`(2) If the environmental authority is an environmental authority (mining 4
lease), part 6, divisions 3 to 8, apply as if the application were an 5
environmental authority (mining lease) application.86 6
`(3) The provisions applied under this section apply-- 7
(a) with any other necessary changes; and 8
(b) subject to sections 34IP to 34IS. 9
on ground that replacement environmental authority needed 10
`Refusal
`34IP.(1) For applying section 34GI or 34GW,87 the administering 11
authority may refuse the application on the ground that it would be more 12
appropriate for the applicant to seek the amendment by replacement of the 13
environmental authority. 14
`(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the grounds on which the application 15
may be refused. 16
environmental management document may be amended 17
`Previous
`34IQ.(1) The applicant may comply with the environmental 18
management document requirements for the application by submitting an 19
amended version of the environment management document submitted for 20
the application for the environmental authority. 21
`(2) However, the amendments must comply with the environmental 22
management document requirements. 23
86 Part 5, division 3, subdivisions 3 (Environmental management document stage)
and 4 (Decision stage)
Part 6, divisions 3 (Environmental management document stage for non-standard
applications), 4 (Decision to refuse or to allow to proceed), 5 (Draft
environmental authority stage), 6 (Public notice and objections stage for all
applications), 7 (Decision stage) and 8 (Miscellaneous provisions)
87 Sections 34GI (Deciding application) and 34GW (Administering authority may
refuse application)
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`(3) If an amended version is submitted, it is taken to be the submitted 1
environment management document for any later amendment application 2
for the environmental authority. 3
`(4) In this section-- 4
"environmental management document requirements" means the 5
provisions about environmental management documents applied under 6
section 34IO. 7
notice of application 8
`Public
`34IR.(1) This section applies for publication of the application notice for 9
the amendment application for an environmental authority (mining lease), 10
instead of section 34HA.88 11
`(2) Within 10 business days after the applicant is given the draft 12
environmental authority, the applicant must-- 13
(a) give the application notice to each affected person for each 14
relevant mining lease; and 15
(b) publish the notice-- 16
(i) at least once in a newspaper circulating in the locality of the 17
land to which the mining lease is subject; and 18
(ii) in any other way decided by the administering authority or 19
prescribed under a regulation. 20
`(3) The administering authority may decide another way of publishing 21
the notice for subsection (2)(b)(ii) only if it gives the applicant an 22
information notice about the decision before the notice is published. 23
`(4) In this section-- 24
"affected person" means an entity that would be an affected person if-- 25
(a) the amendment application were a project; and 26
(b) the operational land for the project is each relevant mining lease 27
for the environmental authority. 28
88 Section 34HA (Public notice of application)
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period 1
`Objection
`34IS.(1) Despite section 34HB(2),89 the objection period for the 2
application is the period fixed by the administering authority by written 3
notice to the applicant. 4
`(2) However, the period must be at least 20 business days and must end 5
at least 20 business days after the publication of the application notice under 6
section 34IR. 7
4--Process if decision is significant environmental harm 8
`Subdivision
increase unlikely 9
of sdiv 4 10
`Application
`34IT. This subdivision applies if the assessment level decision for the 11
amendment application is that the level of environmental harm is unlikely to 12
be significantly increased. 13
application 14
`Deciding
`34IU.(1) The administering authority must, within the period prescribed 15
under a regulation, decide either to grant or refuse the application. 16
`(2) In making the decision, the authority must-- 17
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 18
(b) subject to paragraph (a)--consider the standard criteria. 19
after making decision 20
`Steps
`34IV.(1) If the administering authority decides to grant the application, it 21
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made-- 22
(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 23
amendment; and 24
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register; 25
89 Section 34HB (Required content of application notice)
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and 1
(c) give the applicant a copy of the amended environmental authority. 2
`(2) The amendment takes effect on the day of the amendment or a later 3
day stated in the amended environmental authority. 4
`(3) If the administering authority decides to refuse the application, it 5
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicant 6
an information notice about the decision. 7
`PART 9--TRANSFER OF AUTHORITIES 8
1--Transfer applications 9
`Division
only by approval 10
`Transfer
`34IW.(1) An environmental authority (mining activities) may be 11
transferred to a person who does not already hold the environmental 12
authority only if-- 13
(a) an application for the transfer has been made under this division 14
(a "transfer application"); and 15
(b) the administering authority has approved the transfer. 16
`(2) However, despite subsection (1), if 2 or more persons jointly hold an 17
environmental authority, it may be amended under part 8 or 1290 to remove 18
1 or more of the holders from the authority if, were the amendment to be 19
made, there would be at least 1 holder of the authority. 20
90 Part 8 (Amendment of authorities by application) or 12 (Amendment,
cancellation or suspension by administering authority)
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`(3) Despite subsection (1), an environmental authority (prospecting) can 1
not be transferred. 2
for transfer application 3
`Requirements
`34IX.(1) A transfer application must be-- 4
(a) made to the administering authority in the approved form; and 5
(b) made by the following (the "applicants")-- 6
(i) the holder of the environmental authority; 7
(ii) the proposed transferee; and 8
(c) supported by enough information to enable the administering 9
authority to decide the application; and 10
(d) accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation. 11
`(2) The applicants may, together with the transfer application, also make 12
an amendment application for the environmental authority. 13
`(3) Part 891 applies, with necessary changes, to the amendment 14
application as if a reference to the environmental authority holder were a 15
reference to the applicants. 16
`(4) However, the amendment application must not be granted before the 17
transfer application is granted or if the transfer application is refused. 18
statement may be required 19
`Audit
`34IY.(1) The administering authority may, within 20 business days 20
after the transfer application is made, require the applicants to give it an audit 21
statement for the relevant environmental authority. 22
`(2) The audit statement must-- 23
(a) be made by or for the environmental authority holder; and 24
91 Part 8 (Amendment of authorities by application)
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(b) state the extent to which activities carried out under each relevant 1
mining tenement have complied with the conditions of the 2
environmental authority. 3
`Division 2--Processing transfer applications 4
application 5
`Deciding
`34IZ.(1) The administering authority must, within the later of the 6
following periods to end, consider each transfer application and decide to 7
approve or refuse the transfer-- 8
(a) if the applicants have been required to give an audit statement for 9
the relevant environmental authority--20 business days after the 10
giving of the audit statement; 11
(b) otherwise--3 months after the application is received by the 12
administering authority. 13
`(2) The authority must, in making the decision, consider the following-- 14
(a) the standard criteria; 15
(b) the proposed transferee's ability to comply with the relevant 16
standard environmental conditions; 17
(c) any suitability report obtained for the application; 18
(d) whether the proposed transferee has, under the Mineral Resources 19
Act, applied to become the holder of each relevant mining 20
tenement; 21
(e) the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act for, 22
or relating to, each relevant mining tenement; 23
(f) another matter prescribed under a regulation. 24
on ground that amendment required 25
`Refusal
`34JA. Without limiting section 34IZ, the administering authority may 26
refuse the application if-- 27
(a) the applicants did not, under 34IX(2), apply to amend the 28
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environmental authority; and 1
(b) the administering authority is satisfied that, if the application is 2
granted, a ground for amending the environmental authority under 3
section 34KD(2) would exist.92 4
after making decision 5
`Steps
`34JB.(1) If the administering authority decides to approve a transfer, it 6
must-- 7
(a) amend the relevant environmental authority to give effect to the 8
transfer within 10 business days after the decision is made; and 9
(b) record particulars of the transfer in the appropriate register and 10
give the transferee a copy of the amended environmental authority 11
within 10 business days after the later of the following events 12
happens-- 13
(i) the making of the decision; 14
(ii) the transferee becomes the holder of each relevant mining 15
tenement for the environmental authority; 16
(iii) if a person, other than the transferee, holds a relevant mining 17
tenement--the person ceases to be a holder of the tenement. 18
`(2) If the administering authority decides to refuse a transfer, it must, 19
within 10 business days after the decision is made, give the applicants an 20
information notice about the decision. 21
of plan of operations and environmental management 22
`Effect
documents after transfer 23
`34JC. The environmental management documents and any submitted 24
plan of operations for an environmental authority (mining activities) apply 25
to the holder of a transferred authority to the extent they apply to the relevant 26
mining activities under the transferred authority. 27
92 Sections 34IX (Requirements for transfer application) and 34KD (Other
amendments--non-standard authorities)
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to owners of transfer 1
`Notice
`34JD.(1) This section applies if a transferee is given a copy of the 2
amended environmental authority under section 34JB. 3
`(2) The transferee must within 10 business days give each owner of the 4
land to which the environmental authority relates written notice that the 5
authority has been transferred to the transferee. 6
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--10 penalty units. 7
ART 10--SURRENDER OF AUTHORITIES 8
`P
1--General provisions for surrender 9
`Division
permit can not be surrendered 10
`Prospecting
`34JE. This part does not apply for an environmental authority 11
(prospecting). 12
only by approval 13
`Surrender
`34JF.(1) An environmental authority (mining activities) may be 14
surrendered only if-- 15
(a) an application for the surrender has been made under division 2 16
(a "surrender application"); and 17
(b) the administering authority has approved the surrender. 18
`(2) A holder of an environmental authority (mining activities) must 19
make a surrender application if required under section 34JH. 20
`(3) The holder may make a surrender application at any other time. 21
may be partial 22
`Surrender
`34JG.(1) The administering authority may approve a surrender 23
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application for a part of an environmental authority (mining activities). 1
`(2) Without limiting sections 34JO and 34JP,93 the administering 2
authority may refuse the application if-- 3
(a) the applicant has not made an amendment application for the part 4
of the environmental authority not sought to be surrendered; and 5
(b) the administering authority considers that it is appropriate to 6
amend the environmental authority to reflect the partial surrender. 7
surrender application required 8
`When
`34JH.(1) This section applies to the holder of an environmental 9
authority (mining activities). 10
`(2) If a relevant mining tenement is cancelled, the holder must, within 11
30 days, make a surrender application for each part of the authority relating 12
to the tenement. 13
`(3) The holder must make a surrender application for each part of the 14
authority relating to a relevant mining tenement within the period prescribed 15
under a regulation before the tenement is, according to its conditions, to end 16
other than by cancellation. 17
`(4) However, subsection (3) does not apply if, before the prescribed 18
period starts-- 19
(a) the mining tenement is, under the Mineral Resources Act-- 20
(i) renewed or continued in force;94 or 21
(ii) consolidated with another mining tenement; or 22
(b) a replacement environmental authority is issued to the holder. 23
93 Sections 34JO (Deciding application) and 34JP (Criteria for decision)
94 See the Mineral Resources Act, sections 93(5) (Renewal of mining claim),
147(2) (Renewal of exploration permit), 197(4) (Renewal of mineral
development licence), 286(7) (Renewal of mining lease) and parts 14, division 5
(Renewals of mining claims), 15, division 5 (Renewals of exploration permits),
16, division 5 (Renewals of mineral development licences) and 17, division 5
(Renewals of mining leases).
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by administering authority to make surrender application 1
`Notice
`34JI.(1) This section applies if-- 2
(a) section 34JH(2) or (3) applies to the holder of an environmental 3
authority (mining activities); and 4
(b) the holder has not complied with the subsection. 5
`(2) The administering authority may, by written notice (a "surrender 6
notice"), require the holder to make a surrender application for the 7
environmental authority within a stated a stated period of at least 8
10 business days. 9
`(3) The surrender notice must be accompanied by, or include, an 10
information notice about the authority's decisions to make the requirement 11
and to fix the stated period. 12
to comply with surrender notice 13
`Failure
`34JJ. A person to whom a surrender notice has been given must 14
comply with the notice unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 15
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 16
`Division 2--Surrender applications 17
1--Requirements for surrender applications 18
`Subdivision
19
`Requirements
`34JK.(1) A surrender application must be-- 20
(a) in the approved form; and 21
(b) supported by enough information to allow the administering 22
authority to decide the application; and 23
(c) accompanied by-- 24
(i) a final rehabilitation report for the environmental authority; 25
and 26
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(ii) an audit statement for the environmental authority; and 1
(iii) the fee prescribed under a regulation. 2
`(2) The audit statement must-- 3
(a) be made by or for the environmental authority holder; and 4
(b) state-- 5
(i) the extent to which activities carried out under the 6
environmental authority have complied with the conditions 7
of the authority; and 8
(ii) the extent to which the final rehabilitation report is accurate. 9
2--Final rehabilitation reports 10
`Subdivision
requirements for report 11
`Content
`34JL. A final rehabilitation report must-- 12
(a) be in the approved form; and 13
(b) state the extent to which activities carried out under each relevant 14
mining tenement to which the surrender application relates have 15
been consistent with the environmental protection commitments 16
under any relevant environmental management document; and 17
(c) include enough information to allow the administering authority 18
to decide whether-- 19
(i) the conditions of the environmental authority (mining 20
activities) have been complied with; and 21
(ii) the land on which each relevant mining activity has been 22
carried out has been satisfactorily rehabilitated; and 23
(d) describe any ongoing environmental management needs for the 24
land; and 25
(e) include another matter prescribed under a regulation. 26
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report 1
`Amending
`34JM.(1) This section applies if a person has submitted a final 2
rehabilitation report (the "original report"). 3
`(2) The person may amend the original report at any time before the 4
administering authority decides the application. 5
`(3) However, an amendment may be made only by giving the authority 6
written notice stating the amendment (an "FRR amendment notice"). 7
`(4) A FRR amendment notice must be accompanied by the fee 8
prescribed under a regulation. 9
`(5) The submitted final rehabilitation report is taken to be the original 10
report, as amended from time to time by any FRR amendment notice given 11
for the original report. 12
assessment report may be given 13
`FRR
`34JN.(1) The administering authority may give the person who 14
submitted a final rehabilitation report an assessment report (an 15
"FRR assessment report") about the final rehabilitation report. 16
`(2) However, the FRR assessment report must be given within the 17
period prescribed under a regulation. 18
3--Processing surrender applications 19
`Subdivision
application 20
`Deciding
`34JO. The administering authority must consider each surrender 21
application and decide, within the period prescribed under a regulation, to 22
either approve or refuse the surrender. 23
for decision 24
`Criteria
`34JP.(1) In deciding a surrender application, the administering authority 25
must-- 26
(a) comply with any relevant EPP requirement; and 27
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(b) subject to paragraph (a), consider the following-- 1
(i) the standard criteria; 2
(ii) the final rehabilitation report for the environmental authority; 3
(iii) the audit statement for the environmental authority, or part of 4
the environmental authority, the subject of the application; 5
(iv) any relevant FRR assessment report; 6
(v) another matter prescribed under an environmental protection 7
policy or a regulation. 8
`(2) The authority must not grant the application unless-- 9
(a) it is satisfied the conditions of the environmental authority 10
(mining activities) have been complied with; or 11
(b) it is satisfied the land on which each relevant mining activity has 12
been carried out has been satisfactorily rehabilitated; or 13
(c) it has approved an environmental management program and it is 14
satisfied the land will be satisfactorily rehabilitated under the 15
program; or 16
(d) a suitability statement has been given for the land and-- 17
(i) the land has been removed from the environmental 18
management register; or 19
(ii) a site management plan has been approved for the land; or 20
(e) if a regulation has prescribed another circumstance for this 21
section--the administering authority is satisfied of the 22
circumstance. 23
after making decision 24
`Steps
`34JQ. If the administering authority decides a surrender application, it 25
must, within 10 business days after the decision is made-- 26
(a) if the decision was to approve the application-- 27
(i) record particulars of the surrender in the appropriate register; 28
and 29
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(ii) give the applicant written notice of the decision; or 1
(b) if the decision was to refuse the application--give the applicant an 2
information notice about the decision. 3
ART 11--ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS FOR 4
`P
MINING ACTIVITIES 5
`Division 1--Audit requirements 6
authority may require environmental audit 7
`Administering
`34JR.(1) The administering authority may, by written notice (an "audit 8
notice") require the holder of an environmental authority (mining activities) 9
to-- 10
(a) conduct or commission an environmental audit about a stated 11
matter concerning a relevant mining activity; and 12
13
Examples of `matters' for paragraph (a)--
14
1. Whether the conditions of the environmental authority have been
15
complied with.
16
2. The environmental harm a mining project is causing compared with
17
the environmental harm authorised under the environmental
18
authority or anticipated under relevant environmental management
19
documents.
20
3. Whether a plan of operations for an environmental authority (mining
21
lease) complies with the conditions of the environmental authority.
22
4. The accuracy of a final rehabilitation report given to the
23
administering authority by the holder.
(b) give the authority an environmental audit report about the audit. 24
`(2) However, the audit notice must not be given unless the authority is 25
reasonably satisfied the audit is necessary or desirable. 26
`(3) The audit notice must state the following-- 27
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(a) the holder's name; 1
(b) the environmental authority (mining activities); 2
(c) the matter for which the environmental audit is required; 3
(d) that the holder must, within a stated reasonable period-- 4
(i) conduct or commission the environmental audit; and 5
(ii) give the administering authority an environmental audit 6
report about the audit. 7
`(4) Also, the audit notice must be accompanied by or include an 8
information notice about the decision to give the notice and to fix the stated 9
period. 10
to comply with audit notice 11
`Failure
`34JS. A person to whom an audit notice has been given must comply 12
with the notice unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 13
Maximum penalty--300 penalty units. 14
of complying with audit notice 15
`Costs
`34JT. A person to whom an audit notice has been given must pay any 16
costs incurred by the person in relation to complying with the notice. 17
`Division 2--Audits by administering authority 18
authority may conduct environmental audit 19
`Administering
`34JU.(1) The administering authority may decide to-- 20
(a) conduct or commission an environmental audit about a stated 21
matter concerning an environmental authority (mining activities); 22
or 23
(b) prepare an environmental audit report about the audit. 24
`(2) However, the authority may make a decision under subsection (1) 25
only if it is reasonably satisfied the audit is necessary or desirable. 26
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`(3) If the authority makes a decision under subsection (1), it must give 1
the environmental authority holder an information notice about the decision. 2
`(4) The authority must, within 10 business days after preparing an 3
environmental audit report, give the environmental authority holder a copy 4
of it. 5
authority's costs of environmental audit or report 6
`Administering
`34JV.(1) This section applies if the administering authority has under 7
section 34JU, incurred costs in conducting or commissioning an 8
environmental audit or preparing an environmental audit report. 9
`(2) The holder of the relevant environmental authority (mining activities) 10
must pay the amount of the costs if-- 11
(a) the costs were properly and reasonably incurred; and 12
(b) the administering authority has asked the holder to pay the 13
amount. 14
`(3) The administering authority may recover the amount as a debt. 15
`Division 3--Auditors and conduct of environmental audits 16
of auditors 17
`Appointment
`34JW.(1) The administering authority may appoint an individual as an 18
auditor if it is satisfied the individual has the qualifications prescribed under 19
a regulation. 20
`(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the issues the authority may consider 21
when deciding whether to appoint someone as an auditor. 22
conditions and term 23
`Appointment
`34JX.(1) The appointment of an auditor is subject to the conditions 24
stated in the auditor's instrument of appointment. 25
`(2) The conditions may, for example, limit the environmental audits the 26
auditor may conduct to a stated type of environmental audit. 27
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`(3) The auditor must comply with the conditions, unless the auditor has 1
a reasonable excuse for not complying with them. 2
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 3
`(4) If the instrument provides for a term of appointment, the auditor 4
ceases to hold office at the end of the term. 5
may conduct environmental audit 6
`Who
`34JY.(1) An environmental audit may be conducted only by-- 7
(a) the administering authority; or 8
(b) an auditor whose instrument of appointment allows the auditor to 9
conduct the audit. 10
`(2) Despite subsection (1)(b), a person must not conduct an 11
environmental audit-- 12
(a) if a regulation disqualifies or prohibits the person from 13
conducting the audit; or 14
(b) in a circumstance prescribed under a regulation. 15
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--100 penalty units. 16
of auditor 17
`Impersonation
`34JZ. A person must not pretend to be an auditor. 18
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 19
4--Miscellaneous provisions 20
`Division
or misleading information about environmental audits 21
`False
`34KA.(1) A person must not state anything, or give a document, to an 22
auditor who is conducting an environmental audit that the person knows is 23
false or misleading in a material particular. 24
Maximum penalty--165 penalty units. 25
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`(2) An auditor must not make an environmental audit report that the 1
auditor knows is false or misleading in a material particular. 2
Maximum penalty--165 penalty units. 3
`(3) It is enough for a complaint for an offence against this section to 4
state the statement or document was `false or misleading' to the auditor's or 5
person's knowledge, without specifying which. 6
ART 12--AMENDMENT, CANCELLATION OR 7
`P
SUSPENSION BY ADMINISTERING AUTHORITY 8
`Division 1--Conditions for amendment, cancellation or suspension 9
1--Amendments 10
`Subdivision
11
`Corrections
`34KB. The administering authority may amend an environmental 12
authority (mining activities) to correct a clerical or formal error 13
(a "correction") if-- 14
(a) the amendment does not adversely affect the interests of the 15
environmental authority holder or anyone else; and 16
(b) written notice of the amendment has been given to the holder. 17
amendments--standard authorities 18
`Other
`34KC.(1) The administering authority may amend a standard 19
environmental authority (mining activities) at any time if-- 20
(a) either-- 21
(i) it considers the amendment necessary or desirable and that, 22
if the amendment were to be made, each relevant mining 23
activity would still be a standard mining activity; or 24
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(ii) the amendment is to reflect a change in the relevant standard 1
environmental conditions; and 2
(b) the procedure under division 2 is followed or the holder has 3
agreed in writing to the amendment. 4
`(2) However, in making the decision, the administering authority must 5
consider the following-- 6
(a) the standard criteria; 7
(b) the applicant's ability to comply with the relevant standard 8
environmental conditions; 9
(c) any suitability report obtained for the application. 10
amendments--non-standard authorities 11
`Other
`34KD.(1) The administering authority may amend a non-standard 12
environmental authority (mining activities) at any time if-- 13
(a) it considers the amendment necessary or desirable; and 14
(b) the procedure under division 2 is followed or the holder has 15
agreed in writing to the amendment. 16
`(2) For subsection (1)(b), the grounds are as follows-- 17
(a) a contravention of this Act by the holder; 18
(b) the environmental authority was issued because of a materially 19
false or misleading representation or declaration, made either 20
orally or in writing; 21
(c) financial assurance required under a condition of the 22
environmental authority has not been given in the amount or in 23
the form required under the condition; 24
(d) the environmental authority was issued on the basis of a 25
miscalculation of-- 26
(i) the environmental values affected or likely to be affected, by 27
a relevant mining activity; or 28
(ii) the quantity or quality of contaminant authorised to be 29
released into the environment; or 30
s6 171 s6
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(iii) the effects of the release of a quantity or quality of 1
contaminant authorised to be released into the environment; 2
(e) a change in the way in which, or the place where, contaminants 3
are, or are likely to be, released into the environment; 4
(f) the approval of an environmental protection policy or the approval 5
of the amendment of an environmental protection policy; 6
(g) an environmental audit or report, or an audit statement given 7
under this chapter; 8
(h) an environmental audit or report given under chapter 3;95 9
(i) a final rehabilitation report; 10
(j) an annual return required under this Act; 11
(k) for an environmental authority (mining lease), a change provided 12
for, or other matter stated in, an amendment to or replacement of 13
the plan of operations for the environmental authority; 14
(l) a significant change in the way in which, or the extent to which, 15
an activity under the environmental authority is being carried out; 16
17
Example of `significant change' for paragraph (l)--
18
The EMOS for an environmental authority (mining lease) application
19
was based on a particular method for removing contaminants from a
20
waste stream for a relevant mining activity. The conditions for the
21
authority were fixed on the basis of the EMOS. The authority is
22
transferred and the transferee changes the method.
(m) the amount or form of any financial assurance given or required 23
for the environmental authority is no longer appropriate because 24
of-- 25
(i) a change in the degree of environmental harm caused, or that 26
may be caused, by a relevant mining activity; or 27
(ii) the environmental record of the authority holder; 28
(n) the amendment is necessary to prevent environmental harm not 29
already authorised under the environmental authority; 30
95 Chapter 3 (Environmental management)
s6 172 s6
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(o) an amendment proposed under an amendment application; 1
(p) another circumstance prescribed under a regulation. 2
`(3) Subsection (2)(l) applies even if an environmental management 3
document or plan of operations mentions or provides for the change. 4
`Subdivision 2--Cancellation or suspension 5
6
`Conditions
`34KE.(1) The administering authority may cancel or suspend an 7
environmental authority (mining activities) if-- 8
(a) a replacement environmental authority is issued for the 9
environmental authority; or 10
(b) an event mentioned in subsection (2) has happened and the 11
procedure under division 2 is followed. 12
`(2) For subsection (1)(b), the events are as follows-- 13
(a) the environmental authority was issued because of a materially 14
false or misleading representation or declaration, made either 15
orally or in writing; 16
(b) financial assurance required under a condition of the 17
environmental authority has not been given in the amount or in 18
the form required under the condition; 19
(c) the environmental authority holder is, after the issue of the 20
environmental authority, convicted of an environmental offence; 21
(d) after the environmental authority has taken effect96-- 22
(i) the environmental authority holder ceases to be a holder of a 23
relevant mining tenement; or 24
(ii) a person, other than the environmental authority holder, 25
becomes a holder of a relevant mining tenement; 26
96 For when an environmental authority takes effect, see section 34KO
(Restrictions on authority or transfer taking effect).
s6 173 s6
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(e) the holder has been given an annual notice, audit notice or 1
surrender notice and the notice has not been complied with. 2
2--Procedure for amendment without agreement or for 3
`Division
cancellation or suspension 4
of div 2 5
`Application
`34KF. This division applies if the administering authority proposes to-- 6
(a) amend an environmental authority (mining activities), other 7
than-- 8
(i) to make a correction; or 9
(ii) with the written agreement of the environmental authority 10
holder; or 11
(b) cancel or suspend an environmental authority. 12
of proposed action 13
`Notice
`34KG.(1) The administering authority must give the environmental 14
authority holder a written notice stating the following-- 15
(a) the action (the "proposed action") the administering authority 16
proposes taking under this division; 17
(b) the grounds for the proposed action; 18
(c) the facts and circumstances that are the basis for the grounds; 19
(d) if the proposed action is to amend the environmental 20
authority--the proposed amendment; 21
(e) if the proposed action is to suspend the environmental 22
authority--the proposed suspension period; 23
(f) that the holder may make, within a stated period, written 24
representations to show why the proposed action should not be 25
taken. 26
`(2) The stated period must end at least 20 business days after the holder 27
s6 174 s6
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is given the proposed action notice. 1
`(3) For subsection (1)(e), the proposed suspension period may be fixed 2
by reference to a stated event. 3
4
Example for subsection (3)--
5
If a ground on which the proposed action is to be taken is that financial assurance
6
required under a condition of the environmental authority has not been given, the
7
proposed suspension period may be stated as the period ending when the financial
8
assurance is given.
representations 9
`Considering
`34KH. The administering authority must consider any written 10
representation made within the period stated in the notice under 11
section 34KG by the environmental authority holder. 12
on proposed action 13
`Decision
`34KI.(1) If, after complying with section 34KH, the administering 14
authority still believes a ground exists to take the proposed action, it may-- 15
(a) if the proposed action was to amend the environmental authority 16
in a stated way--make the amendment; or 17
(b) if the proposed action was to suspend the environmental authority 18
for a stated period--suspend the environmental authority for no 19
longer than the proposed suspension period; or 20
(c) if the proposed action was to cancel the environmental 21
authority--either cancel the environmental authority or suspend it 22
for a fixed period. 23
`(2) The decision under subsection (1) is called the "proposed action 24
decision". 25
`(3) If the administering authority at any time decides not to take the 26
proposed action, it must promptly give the holder written notice of the 27
decision. 28
s6 175 s6
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of proposed action decision 1
`Notice
`34KJ.(1) The administering authority must, within 10 business days 2
after making the proposed action decision-- 3
(a) for a decision to amend a standard environmental authority 4
(mining activities)--give the environmental authority holder a 5
written notice stating the decision and the reasons for it; or 6
(b) for a decision other than to amend a standard environmental 7
authority (mining activities)--give the environmental authority 8
holder an information notice about the decision. 9
`(2) The decision takes effect on the later of the following-- 10
(a) the day the notice is given to the holder; 11
(b) a later day of effect stated in the notice. 12
`(3) However, if the decision was to cancel or suspend the environmental 13
authority because of the conviction of the holder for an offence, the 14
cancellation or suspension-- 15
(a) does not take effect until-- 16
(i) the period to appeal against the conviction ends; and 17
(ii) if the appeal is made against the conviction--the appeal is 18
finally decided or is otherwise ended; and 19
(b) has no effect if the conviction is quashed on appeal. 20
`Division 3--Steps after making decision 21
for corrections 22
`Steps
`34KK. If the administering authority amends an environmental 23
authority to make a correction, it must, within 10 business days after giving 24
notice of the correction under section 34KB(b)97-- 25
97 Section 34KB (Corrections)
s6 176 s6
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(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 1
amendment; and 2
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register. 3
for amendment by agreement 4
`Steps
`34KL. If, under division 1, subdivision 1, the administering authority 5
amends an environmental authority with the environmental authority 6
holder's agreement, it must, within 10 business days-- 7
(a) amend the environmental authority to give effect to the 8
amendment; and 9
(b) record particulars of the amendment in the appropriate register; 10
and 11
(c) give the holder a copy of the amended environmental authority. 12
for amendment without agreement or for cancellation or 13
`Steps
suspension 14
`34KM.(1) This section applies if the proposed action decision is to take 15
action and the decision has taken effect. 16
`(2) The administering authority must, as soon as practicable-- 17
(a) take the action; and 18
(b) record particulars of the action in the appropriate register. 19
`(3) If the action is suspension of the environmental authority-- 20
(a) the particulars must state when the suspension period starts and 21
ends; and 22
(b) the suspension ends when the suspension period is stated to end. 23
`(4) If the action is to amend the environmental authority, the 24
administering authority must also give the environmental authority holder a 25
copy of the amended environmental authority as soon as practicable. 26
s6 177 s6
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ART 13--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 1
`P
`Division 1--Advice from MRA chief executive 2
to seek advice from MRA chief executive 3
`Requirement
`34KN.(1) The administering authority must, before it takes any of the 4
following steps, seek advice from the chief executive of the 5
MRA department-- 6
(a) make a decision to refuse a surrender or transfer application, 7
unless a proposed reason for the refusal is that a relevant mining 8
tenement has not been assigned or surrendered under the Mineral 9
Resources Act; 10
(b) make a proposed action decision if the holder of the relevant 11
environmental authority has not agreed in writing to the decision; 12
(c) make another decision under this part about a non-standard 13
application or a non-standard environmental authority (mining 14
activities), to which decision the applicant or authority holder has 15
not agreed in writing; 16
(d) give a draft environmental authority for an environmental 17
authority (mining lease) application if it is a non-standard 18
application. 19
`(2) The advice may be sought in the way the administering authority 20
considers appropriate. 21
`(3) The advice sought may be given only within the time required under 22
this chapter for the administering authority to take the step. 23
`(4) A contravention of this section does not invalidate the decision or the 24
environmental authority (mining activities) to which it relates. 25
s6 178 s6
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`Division 2--When authorities or transfers take effect 1
on environmental authority or transfer taking effect 2
`Restrictions
`34KO.(1) This section applies if an environmental authority (mining 3
activities) is, or must be-- 4
(a) issued under this chapter; or 5
(b) issued or amended to give effect to a transfer under this chapter. 6
`(2) If the environmental authority states a day or an event for the 7
authority or transfer to take effect, the authority or transfer takes effect on 8
the stated day or when the stated event happens. 9
`(3) If no day or event is stated, the environmental authority or transfer 10
takes effect on the later of the following happens-- 11
(a) the granting, under the Mineral Resources Act, of each relevant 12
mining tenement; 13
(b) each environmental authority holder has become a holder of each 14
relevant mining tenement; 15
(c) if a person, other than an environmental authority holder, is a 16
holder of any relevant mining tenement--the person ceases to be 17
a holder of the tenement; 18
(d) if the environmental authority states a day or an event for the 19
authority or transfer to take effect--the stated day or when the 20
stated event happens. 21
`Division 3--General provisions for applications and conditions 22
for refusing application for or to transfer environmental 23
`Grounds
authority 24
`34KP.(1) A refusal decision may be made for an application for, or to 25
transfer, an environmental authority (mining activities) if-- 26
(a) the decision-maker is satisfied the proposed holder is not a 27
suitable person to hold an environmental authority; or 28
s6 179 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(b) a disqualifying event has happened in relation to the proposed 1
holder or another person of whom the person is a partner; or 2
(c) if the proposed holder is a corporation, a disqualifying event has 3
happened in relation to-- 4
(i) any of its executive officers; or 5
(ii) another corporation of which any of its executive officers is, 6
or has been, an executive officer. 7
`(2) In deciding whether a proposed holder is suitable person to hold an 8
environmental authority, the decision-maker must consider all relevant 9
matters, including, for example-- 10
(a) the proposed holder's environmental record; and 11
(b) the proposed holder's ability to comply with any conditions or 12
proposed conditions of the environmental authority or proposed 13
environmental authority. 14
`(3) In this section-- 15
"refusal decision" means-- 16
(a) a decision by the administering authority under this chapter to 17
refuse the application or transfer; or 18
(b) an objections decision recommending the application be refused; 19
or 20
(c) a Minister's decision that the application be refused.98 21
that may be made 22
`Conditions
`34KQ.(1) This section applies for the doing or making of any of the 23
following (a "relevant act")-- 24
(a) imposing or amending a condition for an environmental authority 25
(mining activities); 26
(b) deciding a proposed condition for a draft environmental authority; 27
(c) an objections decision recommending a condition; 28
98 See chapter 7, part 2, division 3 (Investigating suitability).
s6 180 s6
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(d) the Minister, in making the Minister's decision for an application, 1
deciding to impose a condition; 2
(e) the granting, or the amendment, cancellation, surrender, 3
suspension or transfer, of or other dealing with, an environmental 4
authority (mining activities); 5
(f) recommending, under the State Development Act, section 29Y,99 6
a condition that must be attached to a draft environmental 7
authority. 8
`(2) A relevant act may-- 9
(a) require the environmental authority holder to do all or any of the 10
following-- 11
(i) install and operate stated plant or equipment in a stated way 12
within a stated period; 13
(ii) take stated measures to minimise the likelihood of 14
environmental harm being caused; 15
(iii) carry out and report on a stated monitoring program; 16
(iv) prepare and carry out an environmental management 17
program; 18
(v) give relevant information reasonably required by the 19
administering authority for the administration or 20
enforcement of this Act; 21
(vi) carry out or report about stated rehabilitation or remediation 22
work relating to the environmentally relevant activity the 23
subject of the environmental authority; or 24
(b) prohibit the holder from changing, replacing or operating any 25
plant or equipment installed in the licensed place if the change, 26
replacement or operation increases, or is likely to substantially 27
increase, the risk of environmental harm; or 28
99 State Development Act, section 29Y (Application of Coordinator-General's
report to other approval process)
s6 181 s6
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Legislation Amendment
(c) include a condition under section 115100 requiring the giving of 1
financial assurance; or 2
(d) provide that the environmental authority ceases, or ceases to have 3
effect-- 4
(i) on a stated day; or 5
(ii) when a stated period ends; or 6
(iii) on the happening of a stated event; or 7
(iv) if a stated event has not happened on or before a stated day. 8
9
Example of a `stated event'--
10
The granting of a relevant mining tenement.
`(3) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a condition may be imposed 11
even if it imposes an obligation on the environmental authority holder that 12
continues to apply after the authority has ended or ceased to have effect. 13
14
Example for subsection (3)--
15
A condition may be about the following--
16
1. Rehabilitation of the land to which the authority relates after the authority
17
has ended;
18
2. A final rehabilitation report or site management plan for the land.
`(4) Subsection (2) does not limit the conditions that may be made by a 19
relevant act. 20
conditions override standard environmental conditions 21
`Additional
`34KR.(1) This section applies if-- 22
(a) an environmental authority (mining activities) contains standard 23
environmental conditions and an additional condition; and 24
(b) there is any inconsistency between a standard environmental 25
condition and the additional condition. 26
`(2) The additional condition prevails to the extent of the inconsistency. 27
100 Section 115 (When financial assurance may be required)
s6 182 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
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`Division 4--Principal holder of authority 1
of div 4 2
`Application
`34KS. This division applies if 2 or more persons jointly hold an 3
environmental authority (mining activities). 4
of principal holder 5
`Appointment
`34KT.(1) A person is taken to have been appointed as the principal 6
holder of the environmental authority if-- 7
(a) immediately before the issue of the environmental authority, the 8
person held appointment under section 34FA(1)101 as the 9
principal applicant for the application for the environmental 10
authority; and 11
(b) the person's appointment has not been cancelled under that 12
section. 13
`(2) The holders of the environmental authority may, by a signed notice 14
from all of them to the administering authority-- 15
(a) appoint 1 of them as the principal holder of the environmental 16
authority; or 17
(b) cancel the appointment of a principal holder. 18
of appointment 19
`Effect
`34KU. If a holder of the environmental authority holds appointment as 20
its principal holder-- 21
(a) the principal holder may, for all holders of the environmental 22
authority, give or submit to the administering authority a notice or 23
other document relating to the environmental authority; and 24
(b) the administering authority may-- 25
(i) give a notice or other document relating to the environmental 26
101 Section 34FA (Appointment of principal applicant)
s6 183 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
authority to all the holders by giving it to the principal holder; 1
or 2
(ii) make a requirement under this Act relating to the 3
environmental authority of all the holders by making the 4
requirement of the principal holder. 5
`Division 5--Death of authority holder 6
representative becomes the holder 7
`Personal
`34KV. If the holder of an environmental authority (mining activities) 8
dies, the personal representative of the holder's estate is taken to be the 9
holder of the authority. 10
`CHAPTER 2D--GENERAL PROVISIONS ABOUT 11
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES 12
`PART 1--INTEGRATED AUTHORITIES 13
authority may be issued 14
`Integrated
`34KW.(1) The administering authority may accept a single application 15
for an environmental authority from an applicant for different activities 16
carried out by the applicant or activities carried out by the applicant at 17
different places. 18
`(2) If the authority grants the application, it may issue 1 or more 19
environmental authorities, for the activities. 20
`(3) To remove any doubt it is declared that subsections (1) and (2) apply 21
for any type or types of environmental authority under chapter 2B or 2C,102 22
102 Chapters 2B (Development approvals and environmental authorities other than
for mining activities) and 2C (Environmental authorities for mining activities)
s6 184 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
in any combination. 1
`(4) An environmental authority issued under subsection (2) is called an 2
"integrated authority". 3
for integrated authority application 4
`Requirements
`34KX.(1) A person may, by a single application, apply for an integrated 5
authority. 6
`(2) However-- 7
(a) the application must be accompanied by a submission for an 8
integrated environmental management system (an "IEMS 9
submission") for the activities; and 10
(b) any requirements under chapter 2B or 2C applying to the 11
application must be complied with. 12
submission--content requirements 13
`IEMS
`34KY.(1) An IEMS submission must address the following matters 14
about carrying out the activities the subject of the application-- 15
(a) the monitoring of releases of contaminants into the environment 16
and an environmental assessment of the releases; 17
(b) staff training and awareness of environmental issues; 18
(c) the conduct of environmental and energy audits; 19
(d) waste prevention, treatment and disposal; 20
(e) a program for continuous improvement; 21
(f) reporting arrangements on the effectiveness of the environmental 22
management of the activities. 23
`(2) The submission may address a matter mentioned in subsection (1) 24
by reference to a relevant EIS or environmental management document. 25
for integrated authority 26
`Requirements
`34KZ. An integrated authority must state the following-- 27
s6 185 s6
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(a) each environmentally relevant activity for which the authority is 1
given; 2
(b) each type of environmental authority that forms the integrated 3
authority; 4
(c) each environmentally relevant activity for which each stated type 5
is given; 6
(d) the conditions applying to each stated type. 7
of issue of integrated authority 8
`Effect
`34LA. Each stated type of environmental authority that forms an 9
integrated authority is taken to be an environmental authority of that type. 10
`PART 2--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 11
fee and return 12
`Annual
`34LB.(1) This section applies for an environmental authority, other 13
than-- 14
(a) a level 1 or 2 approval; or 15
(b) a standard environmental authority (mining activities). 16
`(2) At least 30 days before each anniversary day for the environmental 17
authority, the administering authority must give the environmental authority 18
holder written notice (an "annual notice") requiring the holder to-- 19
(a) pay the authority the appropriate annual fee, other than for a type 20
of environmental authority or in a circumstance prescribed under 21
a regulation for this paragraph; and 22
(b) give the authority an annual return in the approved form. 23
s7 186 s9
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`(3) An annual notice must state that if the holder does not comply with 1
the notice, the environmental authority may be cancelled or suspended.103 2
`(4) Also, if the annual fee is not paid, the administering authority may 3
recover it as a debt. 4
to environmental authority includes its conditions 5
`Reference
`34LC. A reference in this Act to an environmental authority or a 6
proposed environmental authority includes, if the context permits, a 7
reference to the conditions of the authority or proposed authority. 8
of Integrated Planning Act, s 6.1.44 9
`Effect
`34LD. The power under the Integrated Planning Act, section 6.1.44104 10
to change or cancel a condition of a development approval for an 11
environmentally relevant activity does not limit a power under this Act to 12
amend, cancel or suspend an environmental authority.'. 13
of ch 3, pt 1 (Interpretation) 14
Omission
Clause 7. Chapter 3, part 1-- 15
omit. 16
of ch 3, pts 34C 17
Omission
Clause 8. Chapter 3, parts 3 to 4C-- 18
omit. 19
of s 72 (When environmental audit required) 20
Amendment
Clause 9.(1) Section 72(1)(a)-- 21
103 See sections 34DY and 34KE (Conditions).
104 Integrated Planning Act, section 6.1.44 (Conditions may be changed or cancelled
by assessment manager or concurrence agency in certain circumstances)
s 10 187 s 11
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
omit, insert-- 1
`(a) the holder of, or a person acting under, an environmental 2
authority, other than a level 1 or 2 approval, is or has been, 3
contravening a condition of the authority; or'. 4
(2) Section 72(1)(b) and (c), `is not complying with'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`is, or has been, contravening'. 7
(3) Section 72-- 8
insert-- 9
`(1A) The authority must, within 10 days after deciding to make the 10
requirement, give the person an information notice about the decision.'. 11
of s 73 (When environmental investigation required) 12
Amendment
Clause 10.(1) Section 73(1), `serious or material'-- 13
omit. 14
(2) Section 73-- 15
insert-- 16
`(1A) The authority must, within 10 days after deciding to make the 17
requirement, give the person an information notice about the decision.'. 18
(3) Section 73-- 19
insert-- 20
`(4) In this section-- 21
"activity" includes rehabilitation or remediation work.'. 22
of s 76 (Administering authority to consider and act on 23
Amendment
environmental reports) 24
Clause 11. Section 76(2)(b)-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
s 12 188 s 14
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`(b) if the recipient is the holder of an environmental 1
authority--amend the conditions of the authority; or'. 2
of s 82 (Administering authority may require draft 3
Amendment
program) 4
Clause 12.(1) Section 82(1), `a licence'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`an environmental authority, other than a level 1 or 2 approval,'. 7
(2) Section 82(2)-- 8
insert-- 9
`(c) that a condition of an environmental authority held by the person 10
or public authority is, or has been, contravened.'. 11
(3) Section 82(4)-- 12
insert-- 13
`(e) the review or appeal details.'. 14
of s 86 (Administering authority may require additional 15
Omission
information) 16
Clause 13. Section 86-- 17
omit. 18
of s 94A (Application) 19
Amendment
Clause 14. Section 94A(3), `result in less environmental harm'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`not result in increased environmental harm'. 22
s 15 189 s 18
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
of s 96 (Compliance with program) 1
Omission
Clause 15. Section 96-- 2
omit. 3
of s 97 (Effect of compliance with program) 4
Amendment
Clause 16.(1) Section 97(2)(a) and (3)(a), `a licence'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`an environmental authority, other than a level 1 or 2 approval,'. 7
(2) Section 97(2), after `The holder'-- 8
insert-- 9
`, or a person acting under the approval'. 10
of s 109 (When order may be issued) 11
Amendment
Clause 17. Section 109(d)-- 12
insert-- 13
`(v) a condition of a site management plan; or 14
(vi) an audit notice; or 15
(vi) a surrender notice.'. 16
of s 115 (When financial assurance may be required) 17
Amendment
Clause 18.(1) Section 115(1) and (2)(a), `a licence'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`an environmental authority, other than a level 1 or 2 approval,'. 20
(2) Section 115(1), from `the licensee or holder'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`the holder of the environmental authority or approval to give the 23
administering authority financial assurance as security for-- 24
s 19 190 s 19
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(a) compliance with the environmental authority, environmental 1
management program or site management plan and any 2
conditions of the authority, program or plan; and 3
(b) costs or expenses, or likely costs or expenses, mentioned in 4
section 118.'. 5
(3) Section 115(2)(a)(i), after `being caused'-- 6
insert-- 7
`, or that might reasonably be expected to be caused,'. 8
(4) Section 115(2)(a)(i), `the licence'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`the environmental authority'. 11
(5) Section 115(2)(a)(ii) and (4), after `rehabilitate or restore'-- 12
insert-- 13
`and protect'. 14
(6) Section 115(2)(a)(iii), `licensee or'-- 15
omit. 16
of s 116 (Person may show cause why financial 17
Amendment
assurance should not be required) 18
Clause 19.(1) Section 116(1), ` a licence'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`an environmental authority, other than an environmental authority 21
(mining activities) or a level 1 or 2 approval,'. 22
(2) Section 116(1), `the licence'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`the authority or approval'. 25
(3) Section 116(2)(c) and (4)(b), `licence'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
s 20 191 s 20
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`environmental authority'. 1
(4) Section 116(4)(b), `licensee or'-- 2
omit. 3
of s 117 (Application for amendment or discharge of 4
Amendment
financial assurance) 5
Clause 20.(1) Section 117(1)(a)-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`(a) the holder of an environmental authority subject to a condition that 8
financial assurance be given;'. 9
(2) Section 117(1A), `apply in writing'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`, in the approved form, apply'. 12
(3) Section 117-- 13
insert-- 14
`(2A) If the financial assurance is for an environmental authority (mining 15
activities), the administering authority may require the applicant to give it an 16
audit statement for the assurance before deciding the application. 17
`(2B) The audit statement must-- 18
(a) be made by or for the applicant; and 19
(b) state the extent to which activities carried out under each relevant 20
mining tenement have complied with the conditions of the 21
environmental authority; and 22
(c) state whether or not the amount of the financial assurance has 23
been calculated in the way decided by the administering authority 24
under section 115(3).'. 25
(4) Section 117(3)(b), from `written notice'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`the applicant an information notice about the decision.'. 28
s 21 192 s 21
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(5) Section 117(4)-- 1
omit. 2
of s 118 (Claims on financial assurances) 3
Amendment
Clause 21.(1) Section 118(1), after `incurs'-- 4
insert-- 5
`, or might reasonably incur,'. 6
(2) Section 118(1)(a), `a licence or'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`an environmental authority or'. 9
(3) Section 118(1)-- 10
insert-- 11
`(c) to secure compliance with an environmental authority, 12
environmental management program or site management plan or 13
any conditions of the authority, program or plan, for which 14
financial assurance has been given.'. 15
(4) Section 118(3), `the licensee or approval holder'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`the authority or approval holder'. 18
(5) Section 118(4)(a), after `action taken'-- 19
insert-- 20
`or proposed to be taken'. 21
(6) Section 118(7), from `or part of it,'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`, it must, within 5 business days, give the holder an information notice 24
about the decision.'. 25
(7) Section 118-- 26
insert-- 27
s 22 193 s 24
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`(8) In this section-- 1
"environmental authority" includes a cancelled or surrendered 2
environmental authority. 3
"holder", for a cancelled or surrendered environmental authority, means the 4
person who held the authority immediately before its cancellation or 5
surrender.'. 6
of s 118D (Meaning of "owner" for pt 9B) 7
Omission
Clause 22. Section 118D-- 8
omit. 9
of ch 3, pt 9B, div 5, sdiv 3 (Compliance with site 10
Replacement
management plan) 11
Clause 23. Chapter 3, part 9B, division 5, subdivision 3-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
3--Restriction on local government approvals and 14
`Subdivision
authorities 15
or authority must not allow contravention of site 16
`Approval
management plan 17
`118ZY. A local government must not, under an approval or other 18
authority under the Integrated Planning Act or any other Act, allow the use 19
or development of, or an activity to be carried out on, land in a way that 20
contravenes a site management plan for the land.'. 21
of s 118ZZF (Removal and disposal of contaminated soil) 22
Amendment
Clause 24. Section 118ZZF, words before subsection (2)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`Removal and treatment or disposal of contaminated soil 25
`118ZZF.(1) A person must not, without a disposal permit-- 26
s 25 194 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
(a) remove and treat or dispose of contaminated soil from land for 1
which particulars are recorded in the environmental management 2
register or contaminated land register; or 3
(b) bring into the State and treat or dispose of contaminated soil from 4
contaminated land outside the State. 5
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.'. 6
of new s 118ZZG 7
Insertion
Clause 25. Chapter 3, part 9B, after section 118ZZF-- 8
insert-- 9
to comply with disposal permit 10
`Failure
`118ZZG. The holder of, or a person acting under, a disposal permit, 11
must comply with the conditions of the permit. 12
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.'. 13
of ch 3, pt 10, hdg (Environmental offences) 14
Replacement
Clause 26. Chapter 3, part 10, heading-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`CHAPTER 3A--GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL 17
OFFENCES 18
`PART 1--OFFENCES RELATING TO 19
ENVIRONMENTALLY RELEVANT ACTIVITIES 20
`Division 1--Offences 21
authority required for level 1 environmentally 22
`Environmental
relevant activity 23
`118ZZH.(1) A person must not carry out a level 1 environmentally 24
s 26 195 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
relevant activity unless the person holds, or is acting under-- 1
(a) if the activity is a mining activity--a non-standard environmental 2
authority (mining activities); or 3
(b) if the activity is not a mining activity--a licence or a level 1 4
approval. 5
Maximum penalty--400 penalty units. 6
`(2) This section is subject to section 34EGA.105 7
authority or development approval required for 8
`Environmental
level 2 environmentally relevant activity 9
`118ZZI.(1) A person must not carry out a level 2 environmentally 10
relevant activity unless-- 11
(a) a development approval has been given for the activity; or 12
(b) the person holds, or is acting under-- 13
(i) if the activity is a standard mining activity--a standard 14
environmental authority (mining activities); or 15
(ii) if the activity is not a standard mining activity--a level 2 16
approval.106 17
Maximum penalty--165 penalty units. 18
`(2) This section is subject to section 34EGA.107 19
approval required for certain activities if significant change 20
`New
`118ZZJ.(1) This section applies if-- 21
(a) a person who holds a level 2 approval proposes to carry out 22
105 Section 34EGA (Environmental authorities for new environmentally relevant
activities).
106 See section 34LA (Effect of issue of integrated authority).
107 See also chapter 8, part 2, division 4, subdivision 2 (Special provisions for
transitional authorities) and section 249 (Limited application of s 118ZZI for
transitional authority).
s 26 196 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
works for the construction or alteration of a building or structure, 1
or for the installation or alteration of plant or equipment, for 2
carrying out the environmentally relevant activity concerned; and 3
(b) the construction, alteration or installation will result in an increase 4
of 10% or more in the release of contaminant into the 5
environment under the approval. 6
`(2) The person must not carry out the works without a level 2 approval 7
to carry out the activity on the basis of the increased quantity of contaminant 8
to be released into the environment. 9
Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--100 penalty units. 10
2--Exemptions 11
`Division
provisions for interstate transporters of controlled waste 12
`Special
`118ZZK.(1) Sections 118ZZH and 118ZZI do not apply to a person 13
carrying out the interstate transportation of controlled waste if-- 14
(a) the person holds, or is acting under, an interstate licence; and 15
(b) the licence authorises the transportation; and 16
(c) the conditions of the licence are, to the extent they are relevant to 17
the transportation, complied with; and 18
(d) a consignment authorisation or number for the transportation has 19
been issued under the law of the State into which the waste is to 20
be transported;108 and 21
(e) the following documents, or copies of the following documents, 22
are carried in the vehicle transporting the waste while the waste is 23
being transported in Queensland-- 24
(i) the interstate licence; 25
(ii) the consignment authorisation or a document containing the 26
108 For transportation into Queensland, see the Environmental Protection (Waste
Management) Regulation 2000, section 38 (Consignment numbers for waste
transported into Queensland).
s 26 197 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
consignment number. 1
`(2) However, while the waste is being transported in Queensland, this 2
Act applies, with necessary changes, to the person and the transportation as 3
if-- 4
(a) a reference in this Act to an environmental authority includes a 5
reference to the interstate licence and any conditions of the licence; 6
and 7
(b) the interstate licence and the consignment authorisation or 8
document containing the consignment number are documents 9
required to be held or kept under this Act; and 10
(c) the transportation were an environmentally relevant activity to 11
which the licence relates; and 12
(d) the vehicle is a place to which the licence relates. 13
`(3) In this section-- 14
"controlled waste" has the meaning given under the National Environment 15
Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste between States and 16
Territories) Measure, made by the National Environment Protection 17
Council on 26 June 1998 under the national scheme laws and notified 18
in the Commonwealth Gazette No. G 27 on 8 July 1998 at page 2212. 19
"interstate licence" means an authority, instrument, licence or permit, 20
however called, that is similar to an environmental authority, issued 21
under a corresponding law. 22
"interstate transportation", of controlled waste, means the transportation 23
of controlled waste from-- 24
(a) a place in Queensland to a place in another State; or 25
(b) a place in another State to a place in Queensland; or 26
(c) a place in another State through Queensland to a place in another 27
State. 28
s 26 198 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`PART 2--OFFENCES RELATING TO 1
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS AND 2
DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS 3
1--Environmental authorities 4
`Division
of condition of environmental authority 5
`Contravention
`118ZZL.(1) This section applies to a person who is the holder of, or is 6
acting under, an environmental authority. 7
`(2) The person must not wilfully contravene a condition of the authority. 8
Maximum penalty-- 9
(a) for a licence, a level 1 approval or for a non-standard 10
environmental authority (mining activities)--2 000 penalty units 11
or 2 years imprisonment; or 12
(b) for a level 2 approval or for a standard environmental authority 13
(mining activities)--300 penalty units. 14
`(3) The person must not contravene a condition of the authority. 15
Maximum penalty-- 16
(a) for a licence, a level 1 approval or for a non-standard 17
environmental authority (mining activities)--1 665 penalty units; 18
or 19
(b) for a level 2 approval or for a standard environmental authority 20
(mining activities)--250 penalty units. 21
`(4) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (2), if the court is 22
not satisfied the defendant is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied the 23
defendant is guilty of an offence against subsection (3), the court may find 24
the defendant guilty of the offence against subsection (3). 25
authority holder responsible for ensuring conditions 26
`Environmental
complied with 27
`118ZZM.(1) The holder of an environmental authority must ensure 28
s 26 199 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
everyone acting under the authority complies with the conditions of the 1
authority. 2
`(2) If another person acting under the authority commits an offence 3
against section 118ZZL, the holder also commits an offence, namely, the 4
offence of failing to ensure the other person complied with the conditions. 5
Maximum penalty--the penalty under section 118ZZL(2) or (3) for the 6
contravention of the conditions. 7
`(3) Evidence that the other person has been convicted of an offence 8
against section 118ZZL while acting under the authority is evidence that the 9
holder committed the offence of failing to ensure the other person complies 10
with the conditions. 11
`(4) However, it is a defence for the holder to prove-- 12
(a) the holder issued appropriate instructions and used all reasonable 13
precautions to ensure compliance with the conditions; and 14
(b) the offence was committed without the holder's knowledge; and 15
(c) the holder could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have 16
stopped the commission of the offence. 17
2--Environmental management programs 18
`Division
of program 19
`Contravention
`118ZZN.(1) The holder of an approval of an environmental 20
management program, or a person acting under an environmental 21
management program, must not wilfully contravene the program. 22
Maximum penalty--1 665 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 23
`(2) The holder of an approval of an environmental management 24
program, or a person acting under an environmental management program, 25
must not contravene the program. 26
Maximum penalty--835 penalty units. 27
`(3) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), if the court is 28
not satisfied the defendant is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied the 29
s 26 200 s 26
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
defendant is guilty of an offence against subsection (2), the court may find 1
the defendant guilty of the offence against subsection (2). 2
holder responsible for ensuring program complied with 3
`Approval
`118ZZO.(1) The holder of an approval of an environmental 4
management program must ensure everyone acting under the program 5
complies with the program. 6
`(2) If another person acting under the program commits an offence 7
against section 118ZZN, the holder also commits an offence, namely, the 8
offence of failing to ensure the other person complies with the program. 9
Maximum penalty--the penalty under section 118ZZN(1) or (2) for the 10
contravention of the program. 11
`(3) Evidence that the other person has been convicted of an offence 12
against section 118ZZN while acting under the program is evidence that the 13
holder committed the offence of failing to ensure the other person complied 14
with the program. 15
`(4) However, it is a defence for the holder to prove-- 16
(a) the holder issued appropriate instructions and used all reasonable 17
precautions to ensure compliance with the program; and 18
(b) the offence was committed without the holder's knowledge; and 19
(c) the holder could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have 20
stopped the commission of the offence. 21
`Division 3--Site management plans 22
of plan 23
`Contravention
`118ZZP.(1) A person must not wilfully contravene a site management 24
plan. 25
Maximum penalty--1 665 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 26
`(2) A person must not contravene a site management plan. 27
Maximum penalty--835 penalty units. 28
s 27 201 s 27
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
`(3) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), if the court is 1
not satisfied the defendant is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied the 2
defendant is guilty of an offence against subsection (2), the court may find 3
the defendant guilty of the offence against subsection (2). 4
4--Development approvals 5
`Division
to contravene development condition 6
`Offence
`118ZZQ.(1) A person must not wilfully contravene a development 7
condition of a development approval. 8
Maximum penalty--2 000 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. 9
`(2) A person must not contravene a development condition of a 10
development approval. 11
Maximum penalty--1 665 penalty units. 12
`(3) In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), if the court is 13
not satisfied the defendant is guilty of the offence charged but is satisfied the 14
defendant is guilty of an offence against subsection (2), the court may find 15
the defendant guilty of the offence against subsection (2). 16
`PART 3--OFFENCES RELATING TO 17
ENVIRONMENTAL HARM'. 18
of s 119 (Unlawful environmental harm) 19
Amendment
Clause 27. Section 119(2)(b)-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`(b) the defendant complied with the general environmental duty. 22
`(3) The defendant is taken to have complied with the duty if the 23
defendant proves-- 24
(a) an approved code of practice or a code of environmental 25
s 28 202 s 29
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
compliance applies to the causing of the environmental harm; and 1
(b) to the extent it is relevant, the defendant complied with the code.'. 2
of new ch 3A, pt 3 hdg 3
Insertion
Clause 28. After section 123-- 4
insert-- 5
ART 4--OTHER OFFENCES'. 6
`P
of s 135 (Entry of place) 7
Amendment
Clause 29.(1) Section 135, heading-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`Entry of place--general'. 10
(2) Section 135(1)(c), words before subparagraph (ii)-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`(c) it is a place to which an environmental authority or a development 13
approval subject to a development condition relates and the entry 14
is made when-- 15
(i) the environmentally relevant activity to which the authority 16
or approval relates is being carried out; or'. 17
(3) Section 135(1)-- 18
insert-- 19
`(g) the authorised person may enter the place under section 136, 20
136A or 136B.'. 21
(4) Section 135-- 22
insert-- 23
`(1A) For the purpose of asking the occupier of a place for consent to 24
enter, an authorised person may, without the occupier's consent or a 25
warrant-- 26
(a) enter land around premises at the place to an extent that is 27
s 30 203 s 31
Environmental Protection and Other
Legislation Amendment
reasonable to contact the occupier; or 1
(b) enter part of the place the authorised person reasonably considers 2
members of the public ordinarily are allowed to enter when they 3
wish to contact the occupier.109'. 4
(5) Section 135(3)-- 5
omit.