Proposed amendments to environmental legislation
Last month, the Queensland Government introduced into parliament the Environmental Protection and other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 (EPOLA Bill 2022) which sets out changes to the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act), and other legislation, and has potential implications not only for those organisations who hold environmental approvals but also for the general community more broadly
When presenting the EPOLA Bill 2022 to parliament, the Government stated that it ‘will support industry and streamline administrative processes, better protect the environment and improve community input and transparency and provide for a stronger, more effective and environmental regulator.’1
In preparing the amendments set out in the EPOLA Bill 2022, the Department of Environment and Science undertook engagement with stakeholders over a period of more than 12 months to identify what amendments were required, and then discuss and refine those proposed amendments.
Proposed changes
There are many proposed amendments in the EPOLA Bill 2022 which apply across the EP Act. Some of the most relevant changes proposed include:
Investigations
- increased investigator powers for authorised persons, including the ability to use drones and body-worn cameras;
Environmental Authorities
- public notification of major amendments to an environmental authority (EA) for a resource activity will be mandatory;
- the introduction of EA’s for trial, research or innovative activities which require reduced information and have a maximum term of 3 years;
- allowing amendment of EA’s in more situations;
- the introduction of temporary authorities for emergency situations;
Contamination
- clarification of the notification requirements for contaminated land;
- the introduction of a process for voluntarily including land on the environmental management register (EMR) or the contaminated land register (CLR);
- the removal of concentration thresholds for some contaminants, such as asbestos and biologically infectious substances, for land recorded in the EMR or CLR;
