EPA Will Now Oversee All Stages Of Gas Activities

Changes to legislation requiring all gas industry activities taking place in NSW to have an environment protection licence will enable the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to oversee gas activities from the earliest stages through to its production.

The legislation, which comes under the Protection of the Environment Operations Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Regulation 2014, forms part of the expanded compliance role of the EPA.

NSW EPA chief environment regulator mark Gifford said it gave the EPA direct regulatory oversight of gas activities, thus the ability to ensure consistent and transparent industry regulation.

“All gas exploration, assessment and production activities, including conventional gas, coal seam gas, tight gas and shale gas are now required to hold an environment protection licence issued by the EPA,” Mr Gifford said.

“An environment protection license contains legally enforceable site specific conditions, which holders must comply with in order to prevent and minimise pollution, and safeguard the environment.”

Gifford said the changes had placed the environmental regulation of petroleum activities on par with 2013 amendments for the better regulation of coal seam gas activities.

“It enables the EPA to oversee gas activities through all development phases, from the outset of exploration to production,” he said.

“It also provides certainty for industry and the community about the environmental regulation of gas activities.”

All types of gas, conventional or unconventional, have been placed under the term ‘petroleum’ (any naturally occurring hydrocarbon) in the new legislation.

The amendment also provides a new administrative fee scale for gas activities, requiring licensed operators to pay load-based fees on specific assessable pollutants when annual capacity production of a project exceeds 0.5 petajoules.

Gas facilities required to hold an environment protection licence have three months from the regulation commencement to apply for a licence or a licence variation, meaning  applications must be submitted by 19 March 2015.