Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Annual Report 2011–12
Promoting ecologically sustainable development
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- 2.1 Strategic Approaches
- Case Study 1: Western Sydney’s growth centres program strategic assessment
- Case Study 2: Molongolo Valley Strategic Assessment
- Marine bioregional planning
- Bilateral agreements
2. Promoting ecologically sustainable developmentSection 516A of the EPBC Act requires the department to report on how the department’s activities and administration of the Act accorded with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). The principles of ESD embodied in Section 3A of the EPBC Act are:
These principles are relevant to all activities and decisions made by the minister and the department in relation to the operation of the EPBC Act. These principles were complied with in all portfolio activities and decisions under the EPBC Act in 2011–12. In addition, the minister and the department have emphasised approaches such as strategic assessments, bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions, and reform of regulatory arrangements, as means of better meeting the principles of ESD in the current and future operation of the EPBC Act. This section of the report describes the department’s work in these areas in 2011–12, specific environmental impact assessments, and the department’s compliance and enforcement activities. 2.1 Strategic ApproachesStrategic assessmentsStrategic assessments under the EPBC Act provide a tool for reducing regulatory burden by considering Commonwealth and state and territory environmental planning issues in a single assessment process. These assessments give greater certainty to developers, landholders, planners, industry, governments and the community. Strategic assessments work at the landscape and planning scale and explicitly consider cumulative environmental impacts, including impacts on small patches of native vegetation that might not otherwise be regulated under the EPBC Act because they are below significance thresholds. Under Section 146 of the EPBC Act, the minister may agree to assess the impacts of actions under a policy, plan or program. These include:
The Commonwealth entered into four new strategic assessments in 2011–12.
The minister has endorsed and/or approved the following strategic assessments:
The department completed a review of strategic assessments to inform best practice. The report, A guide to undertaking strategic assessments (2011), is available on the department’s website at Case Study 1: Western Sydney’s growth centres program strategic assessmentIn December 2011 the Sydney growth centres strategic assessment program was endorsed under the EPBC Act and, in February 2012, actions taken in accordance with the endorsed program were approved (except those on Commonwealth land or by Commonwealth agencies). This means individual urban development projects do not need any further approval under the EPBC Act if undertaken in accordance with the approved program. The department estimated this would save up to 500 individual project referrals. Sydney’s population will be nearly six million people by 2036. Proposed Greenfield housing associated with this population increase will focus on the north-west and south-west growth centres, where more than 180000 new homes are planned for 500000 people. Approval of the strategic assessment paves the way for 30 years of sustainable growth in western Sydney. This approval will help streamline the delivery of affordable new homes within a carefully planned framework that balances infrastructure, employment, land development and environmental protection. A key issue to consider was impact on Cumberland Plain Shale Woodlands and Shale-Gravel Transition Forest (the ‘Cumberland Plain Woodland’), listed as critically endangered under the EPBC Act. The growth centres contain 2185hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland, of which 1187hectares will be cleared and 998hectares conserved. This loss is 11 per cent of the remaining 10703hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland. The strategic assessment avoids impacts on the highest quality areas of Cumberland Plain Woodland and generates a $530million Growth Centres Conservation Fund to offset impacts by investing in the best quality remnant areas on the Cumberland Plain in western Sydney. These areas have been identified as the Priority Conservation Lands in the New South Wales Cumberland Plain recovery plan. Photo of Cumberland Plain Shale Woodlands and Shale Gravel Transition Forest, Mt Annan. (Matthew White)
Case Study 2: Molongolo Valley Strategic AssessmentOn 7 October 2011 the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities endorsed the Australian Capital Territory Government’s Molonglo Valley plan for the protection of matters of national environmental significance. On 20December 2011 the minister approved actions associated with urban development in East Molonglo as described in the plan. The Australian Capital Territory’s population is projected to increase from the current 361900 to between 389000 and 460000 people by 2032. The lower Molonglo Valley, comprising the East and West Molonglo strategic assessment area, is one of the few remaining undeveloped areas within the Australian Capital Territory suitable for large-scale urban development capable of accommodating Canberra’s growing population. Photo of the lower Molonglo Valley landscape. The strategic assessment of the plan achieved holistic environmental outcomes for matters of national environmental significance and addressed cumulative impacts at the landscape level across the strategic assessment area. The plan avoids, where possible, impacts on matters of national environmental significance by concentrating development away from areas of high conservation value. Where avoidance has not been possible, effective mitigation measures are employed, and offsets consolidated into large contiguous planned reserves and parks that are adaptively managed to maintain and enhance the ecological values of matters of national environmental significance. These include the ecological communities Box-gum Woodland and Natural Temperate Grassland. They also include species pink-tailed worm lizards, and swift and superb parrots species. The strategic assessment process also commits the Australia Capital Territory Government to develop an adaptive management strategy to set the framework for achieving the plan’s commitments. The strategy focuses on identifying and delivering specific, measurable outcomes for matters of national environmental significance and will ensure a consistent, integrated and efficient application of adaptive management principles and practices to achieve long-term conservation outcomes.
As part of the marine bioregional planning process, new networks of Commonwealth marine reserves (also called marine protected areas or marine parks) are being identified. These reserves will protect examples of Australia’s diverse marine ecosystems and will help meet Australia’s international and national commitments to establish a national representative system of Marine Protected Areas by 2012. The marine bioregional planning process is targeted at Commonwealth waters between the outer limit of state/territory waters (usually 3 nautical miles offshore) and the outer limits of Australia’s exclusive economic zone, 200 nautical miles offshore. Draft marine bioregional plans and marine reserve network proposals for the North-west and North regions were released for public consultation in August 2011. A draft marine bioregional plan and marine reserve network proposal for the Temperate East region, and a Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve proposal, were released for public consultation in November 2011. Public consultation on the draft South-west Marine Bioregional Plan and marine reserve network proposal concluded in August 2011. The final Commonwealth marine reserves proposals for all regions were publicly released in June 2012 ahead of the statutory process to proclaim the new reserves under the EPBC Act. Processes to develop management plans under the EPBC Act for the new Commonwealth marine reserve networks will commence after the regional networks have been proclaimed. Bilateral agreementsA key function of bilateral agreements is to reduce duplication of environmental assessment and regulation between the Commonwealth and the states and territories. Bilateral agreements allow the Commonwealth to accredit particular state and territory assessment processes and, in some cases, state and territory approval decisions. To be accredited, state and territory processes need to meet best practice criteria set out in the EPBC Act and its regulations. If proposed actions are covered by an assessment bilateral, then they are assessed under the accredited state and territory processes. After assessment, the proposed actions still require approval from the Commonwealth minister under the EPBC Act. If proposed actions are covered by an approval bilateral, then they will be assessed and approved by the states and territories in accordance with accredited management arrangements or authorisation processes. No further approval is required from the Commonwealth minister under the EPBC Act. On 13 April 2012 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reaffirmed its commitment to high environmental standards, while reducing duplication and streamlining environmental assessment and approval processes. COAG agreed that governments will work together to achieve reform outcomes. This work will include fast-tracking the development of bilateral arrangements for accreditation of state and territory assessment and approval processes, with frameworks to be agreed by December 2012 and all agreements to be finalised by March 2013. On 21 March 2012 a new bilateral agreement was entered into by the State of Western Australia and the Commonwealth and replaced the previous bilateral agreement. This followed changes to Western Australian environmental legislation in 2010 which introduced a new environmental impact assessment process. The new bilateral accredits this process under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA). The bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Queensland accredits specified Queensland environmental impact assessment processes in assessing actions under the EPBC Act. On 14 June 2012 the bilateral agreement was amended to strengthen cooperative arrangements between the Commonwealth and the Queensland Government. In particular, the amended agreement provides a mechanism to ensure that if the Queensland Government believes that the agreed requirements cannot be met, then it will provide early written notification and seek the Commonwealth’s agreement to complete the environmental assessment work. As of 30 June 2012 bilateral agreements under the EPBC Act were in place between the Commonwealth and all jurisdictions except New South Wales. The New South Wales bilateral agreement expired in January 2012, and a new agreement is being negotiated between the Commonwealth and New South Wales as part of the expedited arrangements agreed by COAG.
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