EHP’s Performance
Assessment
The June 2013 Public
Performance Report is available and provides an overall overview of Department
of Environment and Heritage Protection’s self assessment
of performance.
Information on the department’s assessment of its current and
trending levels of performance in assessing and approving resource and
development projects will be regularly published on the EHP website.
Last
month, the Qld Government released the 2013–14 State Budget.
The
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s $171.1m operating budget
allocation and $30.1m capital budget includes a number of funding commitments
including:
· $11.7m to
continue to increase koala habitat,
· $10.7m
for the protected land acquisitions program.
· $4m for funding
to community groups,
· $3.7m for
the regulation of the coal seam gas industry.
· $2.5m, as
part of a two year $4m commitment, to the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership.
· $2m as
part of a four year $8m commitment, for the SEQ Healthy Waterways program.
The
stated objectives for EHP in 2013–14 include:
·
continued measures to cut red tape,
·
implementation of practical programs
that uphold environmental standards,
·
funding for grassroots environmental
projects across the state.
Further
to reforms to the current planning and development, the Qld State Government believes it has made further significant
cuts to red tape. The Newman Government’s Resources
Cabinet Committee has made it even easier to gain approvals for resources
projects.
The Changes aim to streamline the environmental impact
statement (EIS) process, which all large resource projects need to complete.
As part of the changes, the Coordinator-General and
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection formulated new risk-based,
generic terms of reference for EIS processes conducted under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.
In practice, the EIS process should identify
the same environmental values and propose the same environmental protection
commitments that would be found in the Environmental Management plan, but an
EIS typically goes into greater detail. The EIS is used by the proponent to
develop an EM plan.
At an early stage, terms of reference
are developed that provide the minimum expectations for the scope of the EIS.
EHP publishes generic terms of
reference to assist the development of project-specific draft terms
of reference. The draft terms of reference are made available for a minimum
period of 30 business days so that stakeholders and any member of the public
can review the document and comment on what values, impacts and commitments
should be considered in the EIS.
When the proponent has produced the
EIS, it too is made available for a minimum period of 30 business days for
stakeholders and the public to review the document, and to submit comments on
the quality of the proponent’s assessment and commitments.
The aim of the process is to identify
all significant impacts and propose all reasonable and practicable measures to
protect the environment, before EHP develops the draft environmental authority. A framework
titled Managing the Impacts of Major Projects in Resource
Communities, outlines a package of initiatives
to assist local government, communities and industry work together to manage
the impacts of resource development on regional communities.
A new suite of guidance and support material for applicants
developed by EHP aims to help clients complete their application and avoid
further information requests from the department. Fully completed applications
allow EHP to complete the assessment process more quickly.
The reforms also include a government case management
role with industry, state and local government and Local Area Infrastructure
Programs (LAIPs) to prioritise community infrastructure investment.
EHP is still involved with the assessment and approval of
resource and development projects under the Environmental
Protection Act 1994.
During 2012–13 EHP completed environmental impact assessments
on projects that, if they progress, will contribute $5 billion in capital
expenditure.
In addition, EHP is also conducting assessments for more than
30 major resource project proposals, which will contribute up to $18 billion in
capital expenditure.
Enhancements to EHP’s environmental assessment system in 2013
have also resulted in a significant reduction in assessment and approval times
for environmental authorities.
In 2012–13 the average assessment timeframe for petroleum,
geothermal and greenhouse gas activities was 28 business days, down from 56
business days in the previous financial year.
Waste Management Review
The Environmental Protection (Waste Management)
Regulation 2000 expires on 1 September 2013. A review of
the regulation has been undertaken and a discussion paper outlining several options is now available for comment.
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