August 2010

Case briefs

Cwth
Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Bill 2010
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment Bill 2010

ACT
Construction Occupations Legislation Amendment Bill 2010

SA
Marine Parks (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Amendment Bill 2010

WA
Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Amendment Bill 2010 (No. 129-1)

Publications - Draft

Australia – Renewable energy – Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines released
In light of the expected increase in wind farm development in coming years, the Environment Protection and Heritage Council has prepared a set of draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines. The guidelines aim to outline best practice for industry and planning authorities in areas including heritage, threatened species and turbine noise.  More.

NSW – Aboriginal heritage – Draft code for archeological investigations released – Closed for comment
The Government has released a draft Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigations. It is proposing to exclude certain archaeological investigations from Aboriginal heritage obligations, if the work is done in accordance with the Code. Comments on both the Code and changes to regulations have closed. More.

NSW – Noise – Comments on traffic noise policy invited – Open for comment until 6 Aug
The DECCW has published a Draft Road Noise Policy and is inviting comment. The policy aims to increase protection for residents and includes strategies to minimise road traffic noise. When finalised, the policy will replace the Environmental Criteria for Road Traffic Noise. More. 

QLD – Waste – Draft waste strategy 2010 - 2020 released – Closed for comment
DERM has published a draft strategy that outlines a new direction for waste and resource management for 2010 - 2020. The changes aim to facilitate behavioural change, to avoid waste, and reuse and recycle precious raw materials. A consultation draft on the proposed industry waste levy model has also been released.  New legislation is proposed to underpin the strategy and implement the levy. Comments have closed.  More.

SA – Noise – Draft guidelines for rail operations released – Closed for comment
The EPA has released draft Guidelines for the Assessment of Noise from Rail Operations. They have been developed to provide a consistent process for assessing noise and vibration impacts from rail operations on sensitive land uses.  The guidelines apply to new and upgraded light rail, passenger and freight operations. Comments have closed. More.  

WA – Water – Warren-Donnelly river basins plan released – Open for comment until 6 Sep
The Department of Water has released the Warren-Donnelly surface water allocation plan for public comment. It details plans for future allocation limits and management of surface water in the Warren and Donnelly river basins in south-west WA. Comments close 6 September 2010. More.

WA - Water - New strategies for Lower Great Southern water future – Closed for comment
The Department of Water and the Water Corporation have released a strategy to resolve the Lower Great Southern region's water supply issues. The strategy will guide the process for determining new drinking water sources for towns including Albany, Denmark, Mount Barker and Walpole. Comments have closed. More.

NZ – Pest management – National plan of action released – Closed for comment
A draft national plan for pest management for 2010 – 2035 has been released. Proposed improvements include:

• simplifying pest management strategies and establishing a central “toolbox manager”
  
• enabling lead accountability to be established for a pest issue
  
• developing a national system for measuring effectiveness of pest management.
  

Comments have closed. More.

News

Fines and prosecutions

 

NSW – Waste - Bunding carelessness costs miner $74,000+
A mining company has been fined $50,000, plus $24,000 in costs, after more than 1,000 tonnes of toxic slimes entered a dry creek bed.  The company had lowered the earthen bund that surrounded the processing plant, to improve access to another part of the premises. More.

NSW – Waste - Manager and director fined for waste mismanagement
A manager and company director have been fined $60,000 each and ordered to undertake 460 hours of community service (instead of gaol) after the company illegally dumped tankerloads of liquid waste. More.

VIC – Biodiversity – $65,000 for retailer who sold prohibited weeds
A leading hardware and gardening retailer has been fined $15,000, and has agreed to pay compensation of $50,000, for buying and selling Mexican Feather Grass, a state-prohibited weed.  As part of an out-of-court settlement, the company also agreed to voluntarily introduce measures to prevent the future purchase and sale of noxious weeds. The settlement and guilty plea marks the end of a legal process that has seen an importer, three wholesalers and a retailer successfully prosecuted. The Department of Primary Industries has been awarded legal and professional costs, which have yet to be determined.  More.  

VIC – Biodiversity – Unauthorised land development leads to $47K in costs for airport operator
The operators of a Western Port airport have been ordered to pay fines and costs of $47,000 for damaging native vegetation and developing land without an appropriate permit or authority.  The airfield is on the coast of Western Port, which is internationally-recognised under the RAMSAR Convention for its coastal landscapes and vegetation.  More.

VIC – Biodiversity – Convictions and fines for illegal wood removal
Five men have each been convicted and fined $778 for taking forest produce and wilfully destroying wildlife habitat near Boort.  The men illegally cut down and removed wood at Lake Yando Wildlife Reserve, an environmentally significant area that supports a wide range of vegetation, including stands of red gum.  More.

VIC – Gas plume – Truck driver guilty
A truck driver has been convicted of causing an environmental hazard, and ordered to pay a total of $6,700, after a chemical incident at a Reservoir paper recycling plant.

The driver, a subcontractor for a chemical company, had started pumping 18,000 litres of sodium hypochlorite into a tank which actually contained poly aluminium chloride, resulting in a chlorine gas release.  The site, surrounding businesses and the local Secondary College were evacuated as a result, and fourteen people were taken to hospital with eye and lung irritation.

The driver was:

• placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond
• ordered to pay EPA's costs of $4,200
• required to make a donation of $2,500 to the Friends of Merri Creek, and
• ordered to present at an Australian Dangerous Goods training course on the consequences of failing to adhere to proper dangerous goods handling processes.
  

The paper recycling company has also been charged over the incident. More.

VIC – Waste – Chemical company taken to the cleaners
A Moorabbin chemical company is more than $300,000 poorer after stockpiling about 100 tonnes of dry cleaning waste chemicals in contravention of its EPA licence and a clean up notice.  The company was licensed to store a maximum of two tonnes of dry cleaning waste chemicals on the factory site. It was fined $25,000, ordered to pay $265,000 compensation and EPA costs of more than $42,000.

The company director has previously been convicted and ordered to pay more than $330,000 in fines and compensation for the same charges. More.

VIC – Waste – Waste companies fined for odours and mess
A Brooklyn green waste composter has been convicted of breaching its licence, and fined $35,000, after residents of Yarraville and Brooklyn complained about offensive odours over a three day period.  The company was also ordered to pay EPA costs of $10,000. More.

A Maryborough animal blood processing factory has been ordered to pay $7,500 for depositing between 90,000 and 144,000 litres of washdown water containing animal blood residues at an unlicensed farming property in Moyreisk.  The company was also ordered to pay EPA’s costs of nearly $8,000.  More.

VIC – Waste – Companies fined for waste dumping
Dumping industrial waste has seen two companies fined $5,841 each. In the first incident, a Horsham-based building company dumped approximately ten trailer loads of building waste at a Haven property.  The waste was predominantly timber, but included material containing asbestos which had not been subject to asbestos clearance assessments before the demolition works. More. The second incident involved a Laverton skin and hide manufacturer. Animal fat from its process seeped onto the nature strip, and then into a Cherry Creek drain.  More.

VIC – Wastewater – Coolant spill leads to fine
A Blackburn door manufacturer has been fined $5,841 following a leak of metal-working coolant wastewater into a stormwater pit. Up to 5,000 litres of contaminated stormwater had to be pumped from the stormwater drain. More.

VIC - Wastewater – Chemical plant fined
A Wangaratta chemical plant has been fined $5,841 after between 5,000 and 10,000 litres of industrial wash water was discharged to an adjoining property. More.

TAS – Waste – Sewage spill on road leads to $15K fine
A Tasmanian waste transport business has been fined $15,000 after one of its vehicles spilled sewage sludge on a busy Hobart road.

The sludge spilled from an open skip bin on a truck and initially covered an area of about nine square metres.  It was subsequently picked up by the tyres of passing traffic and distributed along roads in the area.  The spill site drains into a tributary of the River Derwent. More.  

WA – Mining - Mining companies fined for environmental breaches
Two mining companies have been fined a total of $30,000 for breaching environmental conditions. The first company failed to comply with the conditions for rehabilitation of its exploration activities. The second company breached tenement conditions at a quarry and cleared vegetation without approval. More.

Other news

Australia - Chemicals - Amendments to AGVET now in place
Five changes to the Schedule to the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994are now in effect. They cover labels, trade issues, approved persons, permits and minor product variations.

Australia – Waste – National Waste Policy implementation plan released
The National Waste Policy: Less Waste, More Resources implementation plan has been released.  It presents the aims, key directions, priority strategies and roles and responsibilities of governments as outlined in the Policy.  View policy.  

WA – Land – Geraldton-Greenough land use directions published
The WA Planning Commission has released land use directions for the Narngulu area. They will facilitate local planning and the supply of industrial land and infrastructure requirements. More.

WA – Water – Guidelines for Middle Helena Catchment released
The WA Planning Commission has released new guidelines to protect drinking water quality in the Hills and Goldfields regions and to protect the Helena and Swan Rivers. More.

NZ – EPA to be established in 2011
A new Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) will be established as a Crown agent responsible to the Minister for the Environment.  It will combine some aspects of the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA). It should be operating by 1 July 2011. More.

Case briefs

This section includes a link to case briefs, from time to time.

No case briefs this issue.