The draft documents are available for public comment until 6 December 2019
| Date: | Friday, 20 September 2019 |
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The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety is releasing draft Statutory Guidelines for mining proposals and mine closure plans to clarify the mandatory requirements for these applications.
The Statutory Guidelines are supported by an Environmental Objectives Policy and two guidance documents which provide further information on how to prepare a mining proposal and mine closure plan.
These documents are now available for public comment.
Executive Director Resource and Environmental Compliance Karen Caple said the information has been restructured so that each document in the package has a clear purpose and intent of how it is considered in the regulatory process. The ‘repackaging’ of information aligns to the policy hierarchy.
These documents will take effect in early 2020 and replace the existing Mining Proposal Guidelines (2006 and 2016) and Mine Closure Plan Guidelines (2015).
“We recommend that feedback focuses on the two new Statutory Guidelines as the other documents do not provide any new materials but offer useful context on how the documents work together as a package,” Ms Caple said.
“The Statutory Guidelines for Mining Proposals and Mine Closure Plans clearly identify the mandatory requirements for the form and content of those applications.
The department will be holding briefing sessions in October to discuss the documents.”
DMIRs will provide further information on the date of the briefing sessions on its website.
The revised guidance documents on how to prepare mining proposals and mine closure plans carryover the majority of text from the previous Guidelines for Mining Proposals in Western Australia (2016) and Guidelines for Mine Closure Plans (2015), with some minor revisions such as incorporating updated guidance on risk assessment and environmental outcomes, and consistency of terminology across mining proposals and mine closure plans. For further information please see the information sheet.
The draft documents are available for public comment until 6 December 2019. Feedback can be submitted on a feedback form or viaemail to REC.Consultation@dmirs.wa.gov.au.
DMIRS has restructured its guidelines and guidance materials as per the following document hierarchy.
