John Cotter
Commissioner and Chairman
GasFields Commission Queensland
Jade Armstrong
Managing Director Hornick Cypress
Yes, an environmental assessment will be required for an application for an Environmental Authority (EA) or to make a major amendment to an existing EA. The level of detail and technical studies required for an environmental assessment will depend on the scale and nature of the activity and sensitivity of the receiving environment.
An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will often be required to support an application for an activity that presents a risk to the environment. An EMP can have various names including Site Based Management Plan (SBMP), Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and Operational Environmental Management Plan (OEMP).
An EMP should be pragmatic, clear and concise so it can be interpreted and used by a wide audience. It is also important that it is tailored to the site and the activity. Vague or generic EMPs are difficult to implement and comply with on the ground. They also increase the potential for environmental harm and exposure to prosecution by regulatory authorities.
An environmental due diligence investigation is recommended when purchasing a property or planning a development on a site. The purpose of an environmental due diligence investigation is to identify matters which may impede the use or development of a site.
If the site is a greenfield site (i.e. previously undeveloped land) it may potentially be constrained by a wide range of environmental matters such as protected vegetation, threatened species, watercourses and wetlands and agricultural land. An environmental due diligence assessment for a greenfield site needs to be comprehensive to identify all potential risk and constraints.
If the site is a brownfield site (e.g. heavily developed or disturbed) it may be best to focus resources for due diligence on contaminated land matters.
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