戰(zhàn)略評(píng)估協(xié)議 Hunter Coal

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ENVIRONMENTPROTECTIONANDBIODIVERSITY

CONSERVATIONACT1999

Part10StrategicAssessments

Section146Agreement

StrategicAssessmentofaBiodiversityPlanforCoalMiningintheUpperHunterValley,NSW

between

THECOMMONWEALTHOFAUSTRALIA

and

THESTATEOFNEWSOUTHWALES

CONTENTS

1 PARTIES

3

2 DEFINITIONS

3

3 PREAMBLE

5

4 BACKGROUND

5

5 TERMSOFREFERENCE

6

6 PREPARATIONOFTHESTRATEGICASSESSMENTANDBIODIVERSITYPLAN 7

7 ENDORSEMENTOFTHEBIODIVERSITYPLAN 8

8 APPROVALOFACTIONSUNDERTHEBIODIVERSITYPLAN 9

9 VARIATION,CONFLICTRESOLUTIONANDTERMINATION 9

SIGNATURES 10

AttachmentA–GeographicArea 11

AttachmentB–TermsofReference 12

PARTIES

ThePartiestothisagreementare:

TheCommonwealthofAustralia,representedbytheMinisterforSustainability,Environment,Water,PopulationandCommunities

and

theStateofNewSouthWales,representedbytheMinisterforPlanningandInfrastructureandtheMinisterforEnvironment.

DEFINITIONS

UnlessstatedotherwiseinthisAgreement,thedefinitions,meaningsandtermsintheEnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct1999applytothisAgreementanditsattachments.

InthisAgreement:

agreementmeansthisstrategicassessmentagreemententeredintobetweentheCommonwealthofAustraliaandtheStateofNewSouthWalesonthedatethelastpartyexecutesthisagreement.

BiodiversityinvestigationareaisthegeographicextentofthebiodiversityassessmentasillustratedatAttachmentA.

BiodiversityPlanistheBiodiversityPlanforCoalMiningintheUpperHunterValleywhichconstitutesthe‘policy,planorprogram’pursuanttosection146oftheEPBCAct.TheBiodiversityPlanidentifiesbiodiversityvaluesinthestrategicassessmentarea,prioritiesforconservationandmechanismstoachievedesiredconservationoutcomes.

daymeansabusinessdayasmeasuredinCanberra,AustralianCapitalTerritory.

DepartmentmeanstheAustralianGovernmentdepartmentadministeringtheEnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct1999(Cth).

EPBCActmeanstheEnvironmentProtectionandBiodiversityConservationAct1999(Cth).

MinistermeanstheMinisterresponsibleforadministeringtheEPBCActortheMinister'sauthoriseddelegate.

MNESmeansmattersofnationalenvironmentalsignificanceprotectedunderPart3oftheEPBCAct.

PartiesmeantheMinisterandtheStateofNewSouthWales(theState);eachaParty.

strategicassessmentmeansthestrategicassessmenttowhichthisagreementrelates,namelyanassessmentoftheimpactsofpossiblecoalminingintheUpperHunterValleyonmattersofnationalenvironmentalsignificanceprotectedundertheEPBCActandprotectedthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesundertheThreatenedSpeciesConservationAct1995(NSW).

StrategicAssessmentReportmeansthereportassessingthelikelyimpactsonMNESandprotectedStatethreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesfrompossiblecoalminingintheUpperHunterValley.

StrategicimpactassessmentareameanstheimpactareawhereeligiblecoalminingdevelopmentsmayoccurasillustratedatAttachmentA.

SupplementaryReportmeansthereportsubmittedtotheDepartmentfollowingpublicexhibitionofthedraftStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlanwhichaddressesandrespondstopubliccommentsincludingrevisionstotheStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlan.

TSCActmeanstheThreatenedSpeciesConservationAct1995(NSW).

TermsofReferencemeansthetermsofreferencefortheProgramReportandtheStrategicAssessmentReport.

WorkPlanmeansaplanjointlydevelopedbythePartiesforundertakingthestrategicassessment,documentingacommonunderstandingaboutwhatstrategicassessmenttaskswillbecompletedbywhom,bywhen,andwhatresourcesarerequiredforthosetasks,amongstotherthings.

PREAMBLE

ThepartiesagreethatsignificantbenefitmaybederivedfromdevelopingandimplementingaprogramthatidentifiesandprovidesforprotectionofbiodiversityintheupperHunterValley,includingMNESprotectedundertheEPBCActandthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesprotectedundertheTSCAct.

ThepartiesnotethatbiodiversityintheUpperHunterValleymaybeaffectedbyproposednewandexpandingcoalminingoperationsandthatmechanismsareneededtoidentifyandworktowardsprotectionofpriorityconservationareas.

ThepartiesagreetoprepareaBiodiversityPlanforCoalMiningintheUpperHunterValley(BiodiversityPlan)andtoundertakeastrategicassessmentoftheimpactsofimplementingthisplanonMNESprotectedundertheEPBCActandthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesprotectedundertheTSCAct.

Thepartiesagreetoworkcooperatively,includingwithinterestedminingcompaniesandotherstakeholders,toavoidduplicationandtoprogressthestrategicassessmentinatimelyway.

ThestrategicassessmentdoesnotaffecttheapplicationoftheEPBCActinthestrategicassessmentareainrelationtoactionsoractivitiesalreadyapprovedorforwhichapprovalissoughtthroughtheassessmentandapprovalprocessestablishedunderParts7,8and9oftheEPBCAct.

BACKGROUND

Subsection146(1)oftheEPBCActallowstheMinistertoagreeinwritingwithapersonresponsiblefortheimplementationofapolicy,planorprogramtoassesstheimpactsofactionstakenunderthatpolicy,planorprogramonMNES.

ForthepurposesoftheAgreement,thepolicy,planorprogramistheBiodiversityPlan.AStrategicAssessmentReportwillalsobepreparedtoassesstheimpactsofimplementingtheBiodiversityPlanonMNESandthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesprotectedundertheTSCAct.

AdraftStrategicAssessmentReportanddraftBiodiversityPlanwillbemadeavailableforpubliccommentforaminimumofatleast28days.Followingthepubliccommentperiod,aSupplementaryReport(addressingpubliccomments)andarevisedBiodiversityPlan(ifnecessary)willbesubmittedtotheMinister.

Afterconsideringthese,theMinistermaydecidetoendorsetheBiodiversityPlanifsatisfiedthatthereportsadequatelyaddresstheimpactsandendorsementcriteriatowhichthisAgreementrelatesandthatrecommendedmodifications(ifany)totheBiodiversityPlanmadebytheMinister,ormodificationshavingthesameeffect,havebeenmade.

ThePartiesacknowledgethattheendorsementoftheProgramitselfdoesnotconstituteanyapprovalforthetakingofactionsunderPart10oftheEPBCAct.

IftheMinisterendorsestheBiodiversityPlan,theMinistermaythenapprovethetakingofanaction,orclassofactions,inaccordancewiththeBiodiversityPlanandtheEPBCAct.Theeffectofthisapprovaldecisionisthatanyactionsorclassofactionsapprovedundersection146BwouldnotneedfurtherapprovalbytheMinisterundertheEPBCActiftakeninaccordancewiththeendorsedBiodiversityPlan.

ForthepurposesofthisAgreement,classesofactionsthatmaybeconsideredforapprovalundertheEPBCActincludeneworexpansionsofexistingcoalminingoperationsforwhichlicenceareasoccurinthedefinedUpperHunterValleystrategicimpactassessmentarea(AttachmentA)andthathavebeenconsideredandassessedintheBiodiversityPlanandStrategicAssessmentReport.

ThePartiesacknowledgethat,whereproponentsproposetotakeanactioninaccordancewiththeProgramthatisnotthesubjectofanapprovalundersection146B,theyareabletoseekapprovalforthatactionthroughtheassessmentandapprovalprocessestablishedunderParts7,8and9oftheEPBCAct.Paragraphs87(3)(b)and136(2)(e)oftheEPBCActprovidethatthestrategicassessmentreportforapolicy,planorprogrammustbetakenintoaccountindecidingthelevelofassessmentandapprovalforactionsthatarereferredundertheEPBCAct.

TERMSOFREFERENCEFORTHEREPORT

ThePartieswillpreparedraftTermsofReferencefortheStrategicAssessmentReportthatwillincludethefollowing(ataminimum):

PurposeanddescriptionoftheBiodiversityPlan.

DescriptionoftheareainwhichtheBiodiversityPlanwillbeimplemented.

Identificationofcoalminingleaseareassubjecttothestrategicassessment.

MNESandNSWprotectedthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesaddressedbytheBiodiversityPlan.

Identificationandprioritisationofconservationvalues,includingmethodologiesusedtodeterminethese.

IdentificationandanalysisofpotentialimpactsonMNESandNSWthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspeciesifcoalmininglicenceareasaredevelopedusingtheNSWBiodiversityCertificationAssessmentMethodology(BCAM).

Measurestoavoid,mitigateoroffsetlikelyimpactsonMNESandNSWthreatenedecologicalcommunitiesandspecies.

Mechanismstoensureprotectionofpriorityconservationvalues,includingthroughoffsetarrangements.

Endorsementcriteria.

Adaptivemanagementandriskmanagement.

Auditingandreportingrequirements.

TheStatewillprovidethedraftTermsofReferenceforpubliccommentbynoticeconsistentwitharrangementsforothermajorenvironmentalimpactassessmentprojectsincluding:

postingonrelevantagencywebsites;

publishinginrelevantnewspaperscirculatinginNewSouthWales;and

circulationtokeystakeholdergroupsagreedbetweentheDepartmentandtheState.

Thenoticeinvitingpubliccommentmuststate:

thedraftTermsofReferenceareavailable;

howcopiesmaybeobtained;

thecontactdetailsforobtainingfurtherinformation;and

thatpubliccommentsareinvitedforaperiodofatleast28days.

FollowingthepubliccommentperiodforthedraftTermsofReference,theStatewillsubmittotheMinister:

(a) proposedfinalTermsofReference;

publicresponsesrelatingtothedraftTermsofReference;and

(c) areportonhowthepublicresponseshavebeentakenintoaccount.

FollowingreceiptoftheproposedfinalTermsofReference,theMinisterwillnotifytheStatethattheproposedTermsofReference:

areapproved,or

arenotapproved,inwhichcasetheMinisterwillnotifytheStateofanyconcernsandinvitetheStatetoproviderevisedTermsofReferencewhichtakethoseconcernsintoaccount.

PREPARATIONOFTHESTRATEGICASSESSMENTREPORTANDBIODIVERSITYPLAN

TheStatewillprepareadraftStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlaninaccordancewiththisAgreementandtheTermsofReferenceapprovedinaccordancewithclause5.5.

TheStatewillprovidethedraftStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlantotheDepartmentforcommentpriortofinalisingthedocumentsforpublicexhibition.

TheStatewillreleasethedraftStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlanforpubliccommentbynoticeconsistentwitharrangementsforothermajorenvironmentalimpactassessmentprojects,including:

postingontherelevantagencywebsites;

publishinginrelevantnewspaperscirculatingintheStateandtheassessmentregion;and

circulationtokeystakeholdergroupsagreedbetweentheDepartmentandtheState.

Thenoticeinvitingpubliccommentmust:

statethedraftStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlanareavailableforpubliccomment;

advisehowcopiesmaybeobtained;

providecontactdetailsforobtainingfurtherinformation;and

invitepubliccommentsonthedraftreportsforaperiodofatleast28days,asspecifiedbytheMinister.

TheStatewill:

prepareaSupplementaryReportandrevisetheBiodiversityPlan(ifnecessary),takingintoaccountanypubliccommentspursuanttoclause6.4(d);and

providedraftsofthesereportstotheDepartmentforcommentpriortotheirfinalisationandsubmissiontotheMinister.

TheDepartmentagreestoassisttheStateinensuringthatthereportsadequatelyaddresstherequirementsforstrategicassessmentsdescribedinPart10oftheEPBCActandtoprovidecommentsinatimelymanner.

ENDORSEMENTOFTHEPROGRAM

TheStatewillsubmittotheMinister:

thedraftStrategicAssessmentReport(whichwasexhibitedforpubliccomment);

theSupplementaryReport(explaininghowrelevantpublicresponseshavebeenaddressed);

thefinalBiodiversityPlan(incorporatinganyrevisionsinlightofpubliccomments);

publiccommentsreceivedduringtheconsultationrelatingtotheStrategicAssessmentReportandBiodiversityPlan;and

anyotherdocumentsrequiredtosupporttheState’ssubmission.

IftheMinisterisnotsatisfiedthatthereportsadequatelyaddresstheimpactsofactionsonMNES,orthattheBiodiversityPlandoesnotprovideforadequateprotectionofMNES,then:

theMinistercanmakerecommendationstoamendtheBiodiversityPlan;

theStatemayseekclarificationfromtheMinisterontheserecommendations;

theStatewillthensubmittotheMinisterforconsiderationtherevisedBiodiversityPlan,andasummaryofhowtheMinister’srecommendationsweregiveneffect;

theMinisterwillconsidertherevisedBiodiversityPlan,andanysupportingmaterialprovided,andmayacceptitasthefinalBiodiversityPlan;and

theMinistermayrequestfurthermodificationsifstillnotsatisfiedthattheBiodiversityPlanprovidesforadequateprotectionofMNES.

TheMinistermayendorsetheBiodiversityPlanifsatisfiedthatthereportssubmittedunderclause7.1adequatelyaddresstheimpactstowhichthisAgreementrelates,andthatanyrecommendedmodificationstotheBiodiversityPlan(clause7.2),ormodificationshavingthesameeffect,havebeenaddressed.InconsideringwhethertoendorsetheBiodiversityPlantheMinisterwillalsoconsidertheendorsementcriteriaintheTermsofReference.

APPROVALOFACTIONSUNDERTHEBIODIVERSITYPLAN

TheMinistermayapprove,orapprovewithconditions,thetakingofanactionorclassofactionsinaccordancewiththeendorsedBiodiversityPlanunderSection146BoftheEPBCAct.Indoingso,theMinistermustactinaccordancewithsections146F-MoftheEPBCAct.ThisincludesconsideringMNESinthestrategicassessmentareacoveredbytheBiodiversityPlanandeconomicandsocialmatters.

TheMinisterwillseekcommentfromotherAustralianGovernmentMinisterswithadministrativeresponsibilitiesrelatingtotheproposedactionsbeforeapprovingthetakingofanaction,orclassofactions,pursuanttosection146CoftheEPBCAct.

BothPartieswillmakepubliclyavailableelectroniccopiesoftheendorsedBiodiv