Page 2011 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2022
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Answers to questions
Environment—environmental management plan guidelines
(Question No 578)
Ms Lawder asked the Minister for Transport and City Services, upon notice, on 11 February 2022 (redirected to the Minister for Business and Better Regulation):
(1) Can the Minister confirm that if an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) does not specifically state monitoring to be undertaken, but is required in the overarching Environmental Authorisation, then not undertaking monitoring is acceptable, given that in his response to question on notice No 446, the Minister stated that no monitoring was undertaken as it was not required under the EMP.
(2) Does the EMP provide evidence that the Environment Protection Authority overrode its previous authorisation and agreed to not undertake monitoring; if so, can the Minister provide the evidence.
Ms Cheyne: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The Director, Roads ACT, Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate (TCCSD) holds Environmental Authorisation No. 0654 for the extraction of more than 100 cubic metres of material from a waterway.
A condition of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) requires an Environment Management Plan (EMP) be prepared and approved by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) prior to works being carried out for each site. The EMP does not separately specifically identify or state monitoring to be undertaken.
The EA is the overarching document and Section 18.1 of the EA states monitoring of water quality in the work area shall be undertaken during extraction of the material.
However, the work undertaken by TCCS required the pond to be drained while the extraction was taking place, with no outflow occurring during the works. Given monitoring under the EA applied to extraction while the pond was operating as normal, that is not drained, the monitoring requirements under the EA did not apply for the works undertaken. In summary, in the absence of surface water following the draining, surface water monitoring was not applicable.
(2) In an email dated 29 April 2021 from an Environment Protection Officer to TCCSD, the officer required all works comply with the EMP and EA No 0654, in place for works in a waterway.
(A copy of the attachment is available at the Chamber Support Office).
Waste—management data
(Question No 581)
Ms Lawder asked the Minister for Transport and City Services, upon notice, on 11 February 2022:
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