Council to pay $131,000 for EPBC Act breach
Court fines quarry for breaching production limits
New guide details how to use crushed glass in construction work
Albanese issues urban policy paper
Council to pay $131,000 penalty for EPBC Act breach
Victoria's Greater Geelong Council will pay a penalty of $131,000 after failing to obtain EPBC Act approval for road works that destroyed almost one hectare of rare grassland.
The enforceable undertaking with the Federal environment department requires the council to contribute $44,000 towards rehabilitating the damaged area, $67,000 to a review of its work processes and environmental planning programs and $20,000 towards a grassy groundcover research project.
In April, Victoria's Pyrenees Shire Council undertook to pay $155,000 after road works damaged half a hectare of protected grassland (see related article).
Environment court fines quarry for breaching production limits
The NSW Land and Environment Court has fined Hunter Quarries Pty Ltd $70,000 after a routine environment department inspection revealed it was breaching production limits specified in its development consent.
The court ordered that the quarry, near Karuah, pay half the fine to the Department of Planning, which prosecuted it over the breach, as well as the planning department's legal costs of $23,000.
The quarry's development consent limited production to 500,000 tonnes a year. It initially reported actual production of 693,047 tonnes from August 2008 to the end of July 2009, though the court accepted a revised estimate of about 554,437 tonnes.
Justice Peter Biscoe held no environmental harm resulted from the offence, although it was "an aggravating factor" that the company didn't have a system in place to monitor cumulative levels of production.
Biscoe contrasted the case with a $200,000 fine imposed in 2008 on Coalpac Pty Ltd for over-production (see related article), noting that Coalpac's breach had been intentional while the breach by Hunter Quarries was due to "systemic failure to monitor records of production".
Hunter Quarries intends seeking planning approval to boost production to one million tonnes a year.
Minister for Planning v Hunter Quarries Pty Ltd [2010] NSWLEC 246 (26 November 2010)
New guide details how to use crushed glass in construction work
The Australian Food and Grocery Council has launched specifications for the production and supply of crushed glass from used containers for use in road works, construction and infrastructure projects.
Crushed glass can be used as a substitute or partial substitute for virgin quarried material in basecourse and sub-base layers on sealed roads, as fine aggregate for producing concrete and asphalt and as bedding material for pavements, footpaths and underground pipes and cables.
Beverage producers and packaging interests funded the development of the specifications.
Albanese issues urban policy paper
Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese has released a discussion paper on developing "more productive, sustainable and liveable cities" as a preliminary step to releasing a national urban policy in 2011.
Comment on the paper, which contains some generic guiding principles but no specific recommendations or proposals, closes on March 1.
Our Cities – building a productive, sustainable and liveable future: 2010 Discussion Paper
