The EPA issues environment protection licences to the ownersor operators of various industrial premises under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act).Schedule 1 of the POEO Act lists a broad range of activities that are regulatedby environment protection licences. These licences focus on protecting theenvironment (including human health) and address air, noise, waste and landcontamination issues as well as regulating discharges to waters from premises.Licence conditions relate to pollution prevention and monitoring, and cleanerproduction through recycling and reuse and the implementation of best practice.All environment protection licences are available on the EPA's public register.
When exercising its licensing functions, the EPA is requiredto consider any of the matters in section 45 of the POEO Act that are relevant.Along with the considerations that apply to all types of pollution there aretwo considerations that are specific to water pollution
The EPA does not use licensing to regulate every potentialpollutant that could be contained in a discharge or activity. This is becausesome pollutants are present at such low levels in a discharge that they arehighly unlikely to pose a reasonable risk of harm to human health or theenvironment. Also some activities are conducted in such a way that dischargesto the environment are avoided - such as where an intensive agriculturalactivity uses an engineered runoff retention basin.
The EPA also uses a number of complementary regulatory toolsto protect waterways from the impacts of pollution: these includeinvestigations, research, monitoring and reporting programs, and publiceducation.
For more detail about how the EPA makes its regulatorydecisions and focuses its efforts on managing potential non-trivial impacts ofwater pollution on the environment, see the fact sheet Using environment protection licensing to control water pollution (PDF 78KB).
As a statutory authority the EPA has the legislative powers to investigate and take strong and appropriate regulatory action against licensees when there is a compliance breach. Any action taken by the EPA aims to ensure that environmental impacts are minimised, contained or repaired, and the sanctions applied reflects the seriousness of the incident and provide deterrence. To promote voluntary compliance among licensees, the EPA provides information through channels such as education programs, informal and formal advice and audits. For more detail see the EPA Compliance Policy and the EPA Prosecution Guidelines (PDF 66KB).
The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) was amended in May 2006 to strengthen the consideration of water quality impacts when regulating activities that cause, have caused or are likely to cause water pollution.
'The appropriate regulatory authority, when determining the action to be specified in a [prevention] notice relating to an activity that causes, is likely to cause or has caused water pollution, must consider:
The EPA issued the guidelines Considering environmental values of water when issuing prevention notices (PDF 634KB) to 'Appropriate Regulatory Authorities' for the purposes of section 96(3A)(c) of the POEO Act.
Environment protection approvals are granted for works associated with the construction phase of these activities and environment protection licences are granted for the operational phase of the activity.
The annual return includes summary information on non-compliances with approval or licence conditions. It is up to the approval holder or licensee to ensure Annual Returns are submitted in accordance with their approval or licence conditions and by the required submission date.
These volumes are used to calculate annual fees and inform national and international reporting requirements including the National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Waste between States and Territories) Measure 1998 and the Basel Convention.
We sought feedback on the environment protection licence for Cadia mine from the 11 March to 22 April 2024. Over 90 submissions were received. The EPA will now review these to inform changes required tothe licence and will provide a report on what we heard and our next steps.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (the EPA) issues environment protection licences to mines. We require operators to meet legally enforceable conditions relating to noise, air, water, land contamination, waste and other operational matters.
The EPA may publish all or part of your feedback on its website, on its online consultation platform or in a consultation report. In providing us with your feedback, you consent to the EPA publishing all or part of your submission. If you would like all or part of your feedback to be withheld from publication, please let us know when making your feedback.
Once a licence is issued, the licence remains in force until it is suspended, revoked or surrendered. We progressively change licences, including as part of a licence review to ensure they reflect best practice.
The community can contribute to the process of reviewing conditions contained in environment protection licences. We welcome submissions regarding licence reviews from the public at any time, to ensure the licences deliver an appropriate level of regulation based on the level of risk they pose to the community and the environment.
When conducting a licence review, the EPA is required to take into consideration the matters in section 45 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 that are relevant to that licence. At the conclusion of the licence review, the EPA may make changes to the licence to ensure it reflects best practice.
In 2024, the EPA has commissioned Climate and Atmospheric Science to conduct air monitoring within the area to understand a range of air quality metrics, including particulate matter and heavy metals, that are of community concern in the vicinity of Cadia Valley Operations.
We use, from time to time, Facebook Pixel Re-Marketing on our website to collect analytics and deliver ads to make them more relevant to you if you are a Facebook user.We do not collect any personal information or data that identifies you through Facebook Pixel Re-Marketing.
When you submit a form on this website, or provide information as part of using an online service, we collect information from this activity. This information may include personal and organisational details such as your full name, phone number, business name and ACN details, email address and street address.
Clicking on the 'submit' button on the form acts as your consent for the EPA to collect the information you have provided. Before you submit this information we will take reasonable steps to inform you of:
Information collected from forms, newsletters and email will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it. We will not use it for any other purpose, nor will we disclose it, unless with your consent or in other circumstances where such use or disclosure is permitted under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. For example, we may provide the information you have submitted to another public authority in the course of administering environment protection legislation.
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 confers on the public a right to access information held by a government agency, including electronic information like transactions through the web. If information is sought by a third party under the GIPA Act that affects your research, business, commercial, professional or financial interests or your personal information, we will seek your views if you are likely to have concerns about the disclosure of the information before making any decision about releasing the information.
Access - under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 you have the right to access and change personal information the EPA holds about you, such as your address and phone number(s).
Accuracy - we are committed to ensuring that the information we hold is accurate, complete and up to date, so we encourage you to advise us if the information you have given us has changed. If you believe our information is inaccurate, please contact us and we will correct the information.
Retention - we will retain the information you have provided for a period that is appropriate for the purpose for which it was provided. Your information will be archived and disposed of in accordance with EPA policies, legislative requirements and guidelines based on the State Records Act 1998.
We take reasonable steps to protect information during transfer and storage. Physical measures, such as building and equipment security, are used in conjunction with digital technology, such as data encryption and firewalls, to minimise unauthorised access to information.
By accessing and using this site, you are choosing to accept and comply with the Terms presented throughout this agreement as well as the Privacy Policy and Moderation Policy. These Terms apply to all visitors and users of this site. Linked sites, affiliated services or third party content or software have their own Terms that you must comply with. If you disagree with any of the Terms presented in this agreement, you may discontinue using the site immediately.
While using the site, you must not violate any applicable laws and regulations. It is our duty to protect the confidentiality of content you provide on our site in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When you create an account with us, you must always provide us with accurate information. Failure to provide accurate information violates the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our service. You are responsible for protecting your own password you use for this site and for any activities done under that password. Unauthorised use of your password or account must be immediately reported to Social Pinpoint. In some cases, we or our agents may require access to your user accounts to respond to technical issues.
c80f0f1006