Draft policy and procedures enhance clarity of environmental regulation.
| Date: | Tuesday, 17 September 2019 |
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The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) has released three new documents for public comment: the administrative procedures for assessing environmental applications and a revised policy and procedure on the application of mining securities under the Mining Act 1978 for compliance with environmental conditions.
These three documents are now open for public comment until Friday 29 November 2019.
Procedures for environmental applications
The procedures provide information on the process for screening and assessing environmental applications under mining and petroleum legislation administered by DMIRS. It also outlines how DMIRS may interact with other regulators and other legislation to progress the assessment of an application; including seeking inter-agency advice, parallel processing opportunities and constraints on decision-making.
This document has been prepared to provide clarity for proponents to understand the relevant legislative requirements as well as DMIRS’ internal processes. DMIRS encourages proponents to engage early with the department before lodging their applications.
Mining securities policy and procedure
A revised mining securities policy and procedure clarifies the relevant considerations and supports procedural fairness relating to the imposition, review and discharge of unconditional performance bonds for compliance with environmental conditions.
The draft policy complements the operation of the Mining Rehabilitation Fund Act 2012 and offers greater protection to the State from incurring rehabilitation liability from non-compliant tenement holders.
Executive Director Resource and Environmental Compliance Karen Caple said the draft documents will provide interested stakeholders with a greater understanding of the Department’s approach in regulating proposed activities and risk in accordance with its risk-based framework.
“These draft documents are consistent with installing a transparent regulatory framework, which is a fundamental principle of the Department’s environmental compliance program,” Ms Caple said.
“We strongly encourage interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft documents, as we will consider all the submissions we receive during the consultation period.”
Please send your feedback via email to REC.Consultation@dmirs.wa.gov.au
