Environment law and policy tracker

Tuesday, 19 July 2016 3:34pm

Law and policy changes in all jurisdictions, and a roundup of jobs, grants, awards and seminars.

Upcoming events
Jurisdictional round-up (national, states and territories)
Jobs and appointments

** Featured vacancies ** Frasers Property Australia is seeking a Melbourne-based sustainability manager and another in Sydney, for its residential division.

Upcoming events:

Biobanking – history and future A July 21 seminar in Sydney, presented by EIANZ.
Sustainable population and climate change A July 21 address in Geelong by the Climate Council's Tim Flannery.
Council building optimisation webinar A July 25 webinar hosted by Ironbark Sustainability.
Soil carbon – the silver bullet A July 25 lunchtime seminar at the ANU's Crawford School in Canberra.
Clean energy summit A July 27 conference in Sydney, hosted by the Clean Energy Council.
Australasian waste and recycling expo An August 10 to 11 conference in Sydney.
Climate change: The challenge out to 2050 - Tim Flannery An August 19 seminar at the University of Wollongong, hosted by the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
National biofuels symposium An August 23 to 25 conference in Brisbane, hosted by the Biofuels Association of Australia.
Sustainability in public works An August 24 to 26 conference in Melbourne, hosted by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia.
Victorian energy forum An August 24 seminar in Melbourne, hosted by the Energy Users Association of Australia.

For other events, including a conference in Sydney on disruption and the energy industry, see the extensive Footprint what's on listings.

National:

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appointed Josh Frydenberg to an expanded environment and energy portfolio, with Greg Hunt shifting to industry, innovation and science (related article for subscribers only).
The Climate Change Authority will release its special review of climate policy and a separate electricity sector report by the end of August (related article for subscribers only).
The Australian Energy Market Commission has announced it will conduct a new review into the impact of renewable energy on power system security, reporting the interim findings to COAG by year's end (related article for subscribers only).
NOPSEMA, the offshore oil and gas industry regulator, has given BP an extension of time (to August 31) to lodge a revised environment plan for exploration drilling in the Great Australian Bight.
The Department of Environment has issued a new report detailing how the Federal Government will act on its commitment to phase-down imports of HFCs (related article for subscribers only).
A venture capital fund partially backed by ARENA has invested $3 million in Geli, which has developed software that allows energy storage to work efficiently with different generation sources.
Award nominations invited: Nominations for the independent Banksia foundation awards close on August 26.

Queensland:

New state-wide rules for assessing and approving wind farms will take effect this month, marking the end of existing arrangements that leave it to individual councils to assess wind projects (related article for subscribers only).
The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection will contribute $40,000 towards a two-month trial in Toowoomba of a rechargeable battery recycling scheme, with battery companies providing $1,500 each.
Submissions close on August 2 on a draft state government self-assessable code on managing thickened vegetation.
Submissions close on July 29 on discussion paper issued by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection for its review of protected animals management framework.
The State Government has launched a new on-line tool that allows sugarcane farmers to plan and manage fertiliser application and reduce off-site nutrient discharges.

NSW:

The EPA has invited comments on five chemical control orders, in a new phase of its review of the state's Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act (related article for subscribers only).
Land and Environment Court Chief Justice Brian Preston has announced the appointment of three new commissioners (related article for subscribers only).
Three recycling companies have mounted a Federal Court challenge against the NSW Government over waste levy payments and restrictions on sending material interstate (related article for subscribers only).
The EPA has fined Wollongong Coal $30,000 for pollution of waters and inadequate maintenance of equipment after its Russel Vale coal mine discharged dirty water into Bellambi Gully last December.
Transport for NSW has invited registrations of interest by August 15 to undertake contamination and geotechnical investigations for the Parramatta Light Rail project.

Victoria:

Comments are due by July 29 on a discussion paper released by the Essential Services Commission on the true value of distributed generation.
The administrators of Victoria's VEET energy efficiency scheme have extended deadlines for providing comments on proposed changes (related article for subscribers only).
A company has obtained a ruling that it doesn't need EPA works approval, a year after the regulator successfully derailed its initial attempt to secure the finding (related article for subscribers only).
Two regional draft resource recovery and waste management plans are out for public comment, one for Barwon South West and the other for Loddon Mallee.
Comment closes on August 5 on a proposal for a new Yarra (Birrarung) Protection Act and other measures to manage Melbourne's iconic river (related article for subscribers only).
Grant opportunity: Sustainability Victoria is offering resource assessment grants to cover 50% of the cost of a resource assessment of their operations. Grants are capped at $10,000 for a combined materials and energy assessment, with a $3,000 implementation bonus also available. Applications must be submitted by August 5.

Tasmania:

Comment closes on July 31 on proposed amendments to the Aboriginal Relics Act.
Nominations close on August 10 for the EPA Tasmania sustainability award.

South Australia:

Comment closes on August 15 on draft Native Vegetation Regulations 2003 that specify four approval pathways for 39 activities.

Western Australia:

Environment Minister Albert Jacob has announced the establishment of a long-awaited new joint environmental offsets fund for projects in the Pilbara. Since 2011, 22 Pilbara projects have been approved subject to a making a contribution to the proposed fund.
A wetlands protection group will seek leave to appeal to the High Court, after an appeal court today ruled the environmental approval for the Roe 8 highway extension was valid (related article for subscribers only).
Western Power, Horizon Power and Synergy are backing a $4 million 12-month pilot project in which six edge-of-grid rural households will trial stand-alone systems comprising solar panels and battery storage.
Comment closes August 26 on proposed changes to the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Regulations 2008 to strengthen record-keeping requirements (related article for subscribers only).

Northern Territory:

The EPA has released a draft guideline on what constitutes a "significant effect" on the environment (related article for subscribers only).

Jobs and appointments:

Toll road company Transurban is seeking a Brisbane-based senior sustainability advisor.
BGC Contracting is seeking a Perth-based waste-to-energy project director.
JLL is seeking a Melbourne-based sustainability data analyst and a Sydney-based sustainability engineer.
Transport operator V/Line is seeking a Melbourne-based environment and sustainability advisor.
Schneider Electric has a nine-month contract for a Newcastle-based energy performance contract site supervisor.
Randstadt is recruiting on behalf of a council in Melbourne's south-east for a senior sustainability officer, on a contract lasting at least three months.
Victoria's Surf Coast Shire is seeking an environment and sustainability officer.
Melbourne's Hume City Council is seeking a sustainable energy officer.
The University of Queensland is seeking a lecturer in sustainability.
The Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning and Environment has a six-month vacancy for a senior policy officer.
The Alternative Technology Association has a vacancy for a Melbourne-based energy analyst.