Edition 12

Director’s foreword

The final quarter of this year has been incredibly busy with a lot of policy issues and guidelines out for public comment. I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to review and comment on these documents. This greatly assists us in implementing solutions that will genuinely assist our stakeholders.

One key policy issue has been partial cost reflective pricing for environmental regulation. In September 2014, we sought comments on various options, and we received a range of submissions from industry groups, companies and individuals which have assisted in modifying the original proposal. Our response to these submissions is available on our website. Arising from this process, we are now preparing the necessary regulations to introduce application fees for Mining Proposals and Programmes of Work. It is planned that these fees will be in place by 1 July 2015. The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) has decided not to proceed with an annual compliance fee that was proposed in the September 2014 consultation paper.

Although it received little media attention, the Auditor General’s recent tabling in Parliament of his “Ensuring Compliance with Conditions on Mining - Follow-up” audit report is a significant event for the regulation of the mining industry in Western Australia. This report was tabled in November, and considered how well DMP and other State agencies had implemented recommendations from a 2011 Auditor General report. Like DMP, many of the other State agencies involved in the audit can be proud of the report card. In conclusion the Auditor General stated;

“Overall, these changes [implemented by the various agencies] evidence a commitment to improvement across agencies. Many of the changes will take time to bed in and for their full impact to be assessed. Nonetheless, Parliament can be much more assured now than three years ago that the State has a reliable view of compliance with conditions, will be better protected from liabilities, and is securing the returns it seeks from mining."

The Auditor General’s report particularly recognised the positive outcomes of the MRF and the RER initiatives. The demonstrated confidence of the Auditor General in DMP’s environmental regulatory reform initiative is a positive outcome for the community, stakeholders and industry. A copy of the Auditor General’s report.

A key component of this edition of eNews is a detailed summary of what we have achieved to date in our reform program. Of course this is only a beginning. We confidently expect many more changes following legislative amendments next year that will provide significant benefits to both the environment and industry.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy and safe holiday period and I look forward to working with you all in 2015.

Dr Phil Gorey

Executive Director Environment

The Pilbara Rehabilitation Project

The Department of Mines and Petroleum is leading a consortium of government and industry stakeholders to evaluate rehabilitation activities in mined landscapes of the Pilbara region. The project seeks to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation activities in the important Pilbara region, and particularly look at ways for improved collaboration.

The Environmental Protection Authority have previously reported that it had been estimated that perceived best practice rehabilitation of mined landscapes in the Pilbara achieves a return of less than 15 per cent of the pre-mined biodiversity values [EPA Annual Report 2012/13].

The project will focus on the results achieved by rehabilitation and monitoring activities undertaken in the Pilbara, the obstacles that may hinder rehabilitation success, and the guidance material that is currently available. The project will also examine the effectiveness of the regulation of rehabilitation and monitoring activities by government.

Enabling a high level of stakeholder engagement is a key objective of the Pilbara Rehabilitation Project. Stakeholders will be invited to participate during briefings and workshops to be scheduled in 2015.

Any queries or feedback pertaining to the Pilbara Rehabilitation Project may be directed to Danielle Risbey on (08) 9222 3593 or danielle.risbey@dmp.wa.gov.au

DMP Kalgoorlie-Goldfields Team Inspect Fraser Range – WA’s New Exploration Hot Spot

Fraser Range, located approximately 250km south-east of Kalgoorlie, is an exploration ‘hot spot’ in Western Australia.

Historically, the primary target in the area has been gold. However, companies such as Sirius Resources, Ponton Minerals Pty Ltd, Matsa Resources Limited, Enterprise Metals and Sheffield Resources are drawing attention to the potential for nickel–copper development in the region.

With a large number of companies actively exploring, the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) has identified the area as a priority for environmental inspections.

During September 2014, the DMP Kalgoorlie-Goldfields Environmental Team undertook a four day environmental inspection campaign of exploration activities in the area. During the four days, many tenements were inspected against Mining Act 1978 approval documents and tenement conditions.

Overall, the environmental management and rehabilitation was of a high standard.  The good rehabilitation practices observed in the majority of the areas inspected were:

• securely plugging drill holes below ground level;
• ripping compacted areas;
• respreading topsoil and cleared vegetation; and
• removing sample bags.

Some areas for improvement were identified during the inspection, however all companies have worked well with DMP Environmental Officers to ensure that all current and future exploration areas are rehabilitated to DMP’s standards.

DMP would especially like to congratulate Sirius Resources on the high standard of rehabilitation that has occurred to date on exploration activities associated with the Nova Project. 

The Fraser Range campaign is intended to become part of our annual program and DMP hopes to see this high standard of environmental management maintained by all companies.

The inspection campaign doubled as a valuable learning and development opportunity for members of the Kalgoorlie-Goldfields Team. Practical opportunities to develop technical and leadership skills form a vital part of the of the department’s commitment to the Reforming Environmental Regulation program, supporting individual development and building organisational capacity.

Guidance Material for In-stream Mining Activities

The Department of Mines and Petroleum and the Department of Water are currently working together to prepare environmental guidance material for in-stream mining activities.

There are currently 68 project sites in Western Australia where mining of sand, gravel and shingle occur in the bed of a river channel. Basic raw materials are of importance to the Western Australian economy as they are essential components of construction materials and are used in the majority of construction projects, including buildings, roads, bridges and airports.  However, if not well managed, extraction of river sediment has the potential to impact seriously on many aspects of the riverine environment.

The intention of the inter-agency working group is to develop guidance to ensure that sand, gravel and shingle extraction is carried out in a sustainable way and to ensure that mining activities are managed in a way that minimises any detrimental effects on the riverine environment.

The scope of activity for the inter-agency working group includes:

• Reviewing the management practices currently undertaken by active in-stream Mining Act 1978 tenement operators;
• Reviewing conditions to be imposed on tenements where this type of activity occurs;
• Proposing new environmental management practices;
• Consulting with industry on their management of mining operations;
• Consulting with relevant stakeholders on the proposed guidance material; and
• Developing guidance material which will provide recommendations and information on environmental management practices for in-stream mining operations, riverine monitoring requirements and approval processes.

For further information please contact Mariana de Moraes on mariana.demoraes@dmp.wa.gov.au or (08) 9222 3068.

Mining Proposal Reform Updates

Industry Briefing Session

Reform of Western Australia’s mining and environmental regulation was discussed at a Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) industry briefing session on Tuesday 7 October.  More than 150 people attended the event where they received updates and had the opportunity to provide feedback on DMP’s Reforming Environmental Regulation (RER) projects.

The briefing session coincided with the release of a discussion paper on Mining Proposal reform, one of the key priorities of RER.

Opening the event, DMP Director General Richard Sellers said the department was working hard to involve industry and community in the reform process.

“We have the RER Advisory Panel and a number of working and reference groups to advise on these proposed changes and make sure that what is put in place is practical and works for industry, while ensuring high level environmental protection,” Mr Sellers said.

“In addition to industry members, these advisory panels include representatives from conservation groups, other government departments, local government, and members of the broader community.”

The session ended with a panel discussion that included presenters and other DMP environment staff who fielded questions from the audience on legislative changes, mining proposal reform, and the review of the mine closure plan guidelines.

The presentation slides from the industry briefing session are now available on the DMP website along with the Mining Proposal reform discussion paper.

Presentations - Industry Briefing Session

• DMP's Environmental Reform Program (PDF 3323 kb)
• Mining Proposal Reform (PDF 1011 kb)
• Operational Reform Projects(PDF 1044 kb)
• Mine Closure Plan Guidelines Review(PDF 821 kb)

Mining Proposal Reform Discussion Paper

• Mining Proposal Reform Discussion Paper

Mining Proposal Reform Discussion Paper feedback

In conjunction with the briefing session, a Mining Proposal reform discussion paper was made available for comment for a four week period ending on 31 October 2014.  The briefing session and discussion paper gave stakeholders an early opportunity to provide input into the future structure of risk and outcome-based Mining Proposals, as well as an opportunity to provide feedback or comment.

A total of 12 submissions were received during the period from a range of stakeholders. All submissions have assisted in the development of this reform and DMP sincerely appreciates the time and effort taken by stakeholders in preparing responses.

DMP is currently collating and reviewing responses received through this consultation process.  The received submissions are publicly available on our website.

Industry Reference Group

Membership of the Mining Proposal Reform Industry Reference Group was finalised in November. The role of this group is to work closely with DMP to develop the shape and content of the new Mining Proposal Guidelines. The first meeting of this group was held on 25 November 2014.

DMP is appreciative of the on ground knowledge and experience that this group brings to the Mining Proposal reform process. Through the early involvement of these industry members, and the targeted feedback they can provide, DMP is confident that this reform will successfully develop a risk and outcomes Mining Proposal system that is practical, easy for industry to use and sets clear benchmarks for the environmental outcomes that DMP expects from mining in WA.

The group is made up of the following members:

External referrals

As part of a coordinated application assessment process of government, all Programmes of Work or Mining Proposal applications are specifically checked to determine whether they need to be referred to another agency; such as the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the Department of Water or the Department of Environmental Regulation. Our aim is for these referrals to be done as soon as possible following the lodgement of the application to avoid any delays in assessment.

DMP’s internal auditing processes have recently identified two instances where mineral proposals were not referred to another agency until more than 20 business days after they had been received by DMP. This is not acceptable, and DMP’s Environment Division has reviewed its referral practices and has implemented a new screening process for applications so that referrals can be made promptly after applications are received.

DMP will also, in the future, advise proponents when their application is being referred to the EPA. It is current standard practice for DMP to liaise with other agencies prior to referring applications, to avoid unnecessary referrals and provide prior warning so that the application can be dealt with in a timely way. This practice will continue.

If proponents experience any concerns with DMP’s referral of applications to other agencies, please provide this information through to Phil Gorey, Executive Director Environment at phil.gorey@dmp.wa.gov.au.

Reforming Environmental Regulation (RER) Update

A substantial component of the Reforming Environmental Regulation (RER) program will soon be accomplished, with important changes to the Mining Act 1978 set to be introduced into Parliament early next year. These legislative reforms will assist DMP to implement an objective-focused and risk-based regulatory framework, improve regulatory effectiveness and remove unnecessary duplication from the approval processes.

To reach this point, DMP has undertaken extensive consultation to refine these changes as well as to identify procedures and systems for delivering on a targeted strategy to implement best practice regulation.

This has generated a lot of consultation activity, however there have also been many reforms either delivered or substantially progressed which are already delivering direct benefits to both the industry and the community. Below is a summary of those reforms which are of particular interest. The support of all stakeholders in the development and delivery of these reforms is greatly appreciated.

BELOW IS A SUMMARY OF VARIOUS RER REFORMS WHICH ARE ALREADY DELIVERED

Changes to Programmes of Work

• The default validity period for approved Programmes of Work has been extended from one year to four years without compromising the level of environmental assessment or compliance oversight.
• Explorers have increased flexibility around when they can undertake exploration, and they are able to better manage issues relating to land access, weather and equipment availability.
• Tenement holders can gain approval for drilling programs which extend over a number of years rather than having to submit a new application each year.
• This change has also resulted in substantially fewer applications for “extensions of term” for Programmes of Work.

Removing redundant tenement conditions

• As a first step, 32 previously ‘standard conditions’ have been identified as no longer being necessary, and are now no longer being placed on tenements at the time of grant. This process has been undertaken in consultation with other state regulators to ensure that there is no reduction in environmental protection.
• This means that these tenement holders are no longer required to demonstrate compliance with, nor report annually to DMP on, these conditions.
• This is resulting in a reduction in burden upon tenement holders’ companies.

Reducing unnecessary annual environmental reporting

• The online Annual Environmental Reporting (AER) system has been implemented, resulting in the streamlining of AERs, as only the necessary information is able to be provided to DMP.
• This means that some unnecessarily lengthy reports previously being produced by tenement holders – either on advice from third parties or on a mistaken understanding of the expectations of DMP – are now no longer able to be submitted.
• This has reduced the cost and the time taken by tenement holders to prepare AERs.

Integrating annual environment reporting with other reporting

• The online Annual Environmental Reporting (AER) system has also been integrated with the MRF reporting system, so that tenement holders can enter their reporting information once into one system, and have it copied across automatically to the other system.
• In addition, the AER system also allows tenement holders to use their previous year’s report as a reference for their current year report – thereby saving them considerable time in having to research and locate their previous year’s submission.
• This means that the time taken for lodging disturbance data is substantially reduced.

Reducing duplication for approval of Tailings Storage Facilities

• Responding to industry requests to streamline the approval process for tailings storage facilities, DMP has published a new Code of Practice for Tailings Storage Facilities which covers both the safety and environmental aspects of the approval.
• This outcome-based Code of Practice means that applicants are only required to provide the proposal in accordance with one set of standards for both their safety approval and their environmental approval.

Reducing unnecessary inspections and targeting compliance efforts

• DMP has implemented significant changes to the way it determines the focus of its compliance efforts. This involves a detailed risk assessment process for sites, and a screening of all submitted AERs.
• These changes mean that inspection activities are targeted to those sites which present the higher risks.
• The rigour of this process has recently been recognised by the Auditor General.
• This implemented reform avoids unnecessary costs on industry, as well as builds confidence in the community and other regulators that the compliance role of DMP is robust.

Reducing the need for multiple notifications for MRF

• Amendments to the Mining Rehabilitation Fund Act 2012 were passed by the Parliament, and have been implemented by the Environment Division, so that notifications under that Act can be sent to a single nominated tenement holder (rather than having to be sent to all joint tenement holders).
• This change means that there is a reduced burden upon industry to respond and coordinate payments to DMP.

Addressing the outstanding issue of bonds on dead tenements

• Since the beginning of 2014, the Environment Division has substantially reduced the number of dead tenements with unconditional performance bonds still in place.
• This has resulted in unconditional performance bonds with a value of approximately $8m being retired for more than 200 dead tenements. There remains a further $3m in unconditional performance bonds held for dead tenements which are also in the process of being resolved.
• This process has also resulted in previously unrehabilitated areas being rehabilitated by former tenement holders.

Retirement of unconditional performance MRF implementation

• As a result of the RER process, and the rigour of environmental and compliance assessments now in place by the Environment Division, there has been more than $925m in unconditional performance bonds retired since the commencement of the Mining Rehabilitation Fund Act.

Full end to end electronic processing

• The RER process has resulted in a number of online processes being implemented.
• The Programme of Work process is now fully electronic, meaning that tenement holders submit their applications online, can track their progress online, and the approval is issued electronically at the proponent’s request. Hardcopies of approval letters are still issued at the proponent’s request.
• This means that the delivery and transfer time for approvals can be avoided; delivering approvals to tenement holders in a quicker timeframe.

OTHER RER REFORMS ALREADY WELL ADVANCED

Removal of the need for both native vegetation clearing permits and Mining Proposal approvals

• The Environment Division is currently consulting on specific legislative proposals that will remove the need for tenement holders to obtain approvals under the Mining Act and separate Native Vegetation Clearing Permits.
• This reform will deliver direct cost savings to tenement holders who will no longer be required to prepare separate applications, as well as time savings by not having to wait for the longer Native Vegetation Clearing Permit process to be completed.
• This reform will not reduce the level of environmental protection for the State’s native vegetation.

Removing the need for approval of low impact activities under the Mining Act

• The Environment Division is also consulting on introducing new provisions into the Mining Act to remove the requirement for specific approvals for tenement holders undertaking low impact activities they can comply with standards of environmental practice.
• While the tenement holder will need to notify DMP prior to undertaking the low impact activities, they will not be required to wait for the proposal to be assessed. This will save considerable time for tenement holders wanting to undertake works that will have little or no adverse environmental impact.

Allowing the consolidation of multiple approvals on one site

• The legislative reforms currently being considered by stakeholders will specifically provide for the multiple existing approvals that often exist on one site to be consolidated into a single approval.
• This change will offer considerable savings to industry as it will reduce the cost of tracking multiple approvals, as well as allow a process to address confusion, duplication or contradictions that sometimes arise with the proliferation of multiple approvals and licences.

Removing prescriptive approval processes

• The legislative reforms proposed will also enable the transition from a prescriptive regulatory process (where for instance tenement holders are obliged to comply with detailed prescriptive Mining Proposals) to an outcome-based regulatory process.
• This fundamental reform is expected to result in the significant reduction in administrative costs to mining companies, increased levels of innovation within industry as they develop their own solutions to environmental issues, and improved environmental outcomes.

Streamlining of mineral and exploration reporting

• The RER process is driving the consolidation of reporting for the Mining Act. There have already been changes implemented to integrate AER reporting and MRF reporting. The Environment Division will shortly be publishing the revised AER Guidelines which have been subject to industry consultation.
• DMP is now progressing with the integration of AER reporting, MRF reporting, Form 5 (expenditure), Form 5 (mineral exploration reports) and Programme of Work Rehabilitation Reports. This is planned to be incorporated into a single reporting system.
• This reform is expected to substantially reduce the costs to tenement holders of multiple reporting – while improving the integrity of data which is subsequently publicly released and is of interest to other tenement holders and the community.

Further phases of streamlining the setting of tenement conditions

• The Environment Division is working with other State regulators regarding the next phase of removing specific tenement conditions from tenements which are either redundant, or can be established as standard environmental expectations (such as deemed conditions in regulations).
• This means that individual tenement holders will not be subject to duplication of obligations under the Act and tenement condition, it will reduce any confusion which arises from different versions of tenement conditions, and reduce the need for tenement holders to manage reissued tenements (where conditions have had to be changed).

Responding to industry on user-friendly guidelines

• The Environment Division has progressed substantially with the reform of guidance material to improve their readability, and reflect the outcome based risk assessment regulatory model.
• Already consultation is well advanced on the main environmental guidelines under the Mining Act - the Mining Proposal Guidelines, the jointly published Mine Closure Plan Guidelines, and the Annual Environmental Reporting Guidelines.
• All of these guidelines are expected to be launched in either 2014 or 2015.
• These reforms will reduce uncertainty for tenements holders, and further enshrine the risk based regulatory approach supported by the RER Ministerial Advisory Panel.

Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) Update

To date, $32.7 million has been paid into the MRF with a total of $925M retired in Unconditional Performance Bonds (UPB’s).

This will be a very brief update this quarter due to the release of the special edition of the Environment eNewsletter last month which was dedicated to the MRF. 

MRF Special Edition Newsletter – Edition 11

You can check out all the stories here by following this link.

The stories were;

• Progress with collecting MRF Contributions
• MRF data now publicly available
• Getting the right data – in the best way
• The MRF Advisory Panel
• The rehabilitation agenda
• Abandoned mine policy
• Dealing with dead tenements
• Electronic communication and one-on-one assistance
• Learning from the last 12 months

MRF was finalist for the Premiers Award

As some of you will be aware, the MRF was a finalist for the Premier’s Award in the “Developing the Economy” category for 2014.

The competition was incredibly tough this year with 50 entrants. The Department of Housing took the award for their Shared Equity EOI program – and was a worthy winner. This program has helped hundreds of West Australians buy their own home and was awarded for its positive impact on both the housing industry and employment.

As a consolation the MRF team did earn the badge which is now displayed at the top of the page. We have the privilege of flashing this for the next 12 months and will also display it on the MRF website.  We still recognise this as a wonderful achievement which would not have been possible without a great team of dedicated staff and wonderful support from industry.

Approvals Performance Report

July – September 2014

The approval performance target for the department is to achieve greater than 80 per cent of applications finalised within the target timeline.

During the September quarter 2014, DMP finalised the majority of key approval processes within the target timelines.

The department received a total of 1009 mineral tenure applications comprising 580 Exploration Licences, 329 Prospecting Licences, 67 Miscellaneous Licences, 22 Mining Leases, two Retention Licences and nine General Purpose Leases. The department finalised 97 per cent of mineral exploration licence applications and 98 per cent of prospecting licences within the timeline target of 65 business days.

DMP received 577 Programme of Work exploration applications and 60 Mining Proposals. Ninety-six per cent of Programme of Work applications and 90 per cent of Mining Proposals were finalised within the timeline target of 30 business days. Sixty-two native vegetation clearing permit applications were received by the department during this quarter. Eighty-six per cent of clearing permit applications were finalised within the target timeline of 60 calendar days.

The department received 14 mine safety Project Management Plans (PMPs) and six Radiation Management Plans (RMPs) during the September quarter. One hundred per cent of PMPs and 83 per cent of RMPs were finalised within the target timeline of 30 business days.

During the September quarter, six new and revised safety case, safety management system, diving safety and pipeline management plans were accepted by the department. One hundred per cent were accepted within the statutory timelines.

The department, as part of a review of petroleum approval processes, has assessed and decided to report on a number of application types not previously reported on.

Three new application categories have been added. They are Joint Authority Assessments, Other Approvals and Other Titles. Other Approvals include application types such as Declaration/Revocation of Location, Extension of Title Term and Suspension of Permit Rights. Other Titles include Access Authority Applications, Drilling Reservation Applications and Special Prospecting Authority Applications. A detailed list of application types can be found on the DMP website located under Approvals/Approvals Reporting. These changes to reporting are effective 1 July 2014.

The department received 35 Joint Authority Assessments, 12 Other Approvals, five Exploration Permit applications and renewals, two Pipeline Licence applications and variations, five Survey and 37 Well applications. Seventy-nine per cent of Joint Authority Assessments were finalised within 20 business days. Eighty per cent of survey applications and 100 per cent of well applications were finalised within 40 business days. Only 11% of Petroleum Permit applications were finalised within the target timeframe. The department is working to improve Exploration Permit approval performance.

A total of 97 Petroleum Environment applications were received for planned petroleum activities in the State. Ninety-six per cent of Petroleum Environment applications were finalised within the target timeline.

DMP APPROVALS PERFORMANCE – THIRD QUARTER 2014
(July – September 2014)

The table below provides information regarding the number of mining and petroleum applications received by the Department during the specified period. DMP timeline target, approval performance measures and number of applications carried over to the next quarter are provided for key approval processes. The timeline target applies to processes completed by DMP and does not include, for example, the time taken for assessment by other government agencies or where the assessment process is put on hold while additional information is being sought from applicants.

View the DMP Approvals Performance – Third Quarter 2014 Report

Contact numbers for the Environment Division

Please keep these contact details handy for DMP’s Environment Division.

Minerals Assessment or Compliance Enquiries

The map linked here provides you with the contact details of the DMP Environmental Officers responsible for your inspectorate/mineral field area.

Inspectorate map and responsible Environmental Officers

EARS / EARS 2 Online System Enquiries

General application and compliance reporting enquiries

Email :            EARSManager@dmp.wa.gov.au
Phone :          (08) 9222 3535

MRF Enquiries

Mining Rehabilitation Fund enquiries

Email :            mrfenquiry@dmp.wa.gov.au
Phone :          (08) 9222 3162