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Local Council Fined for Unlicensed Radioactive Sources

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has fined a local council $1,500, for not holding the appropriate licence, which would allow them to own two gauges containing a sealed radioactive source.

The local council used the radioactive sources for engineering works such as road construction, although the local council had not actually used the sources since 2011. The local council had previously had the correct licence for the radioactive gauges, however they had let this registration lapse after 2011, as the sources were no longer used. [...]  READ MORE →

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Reform of NSW Environmental Law

The NSW Government had introduced the Biodiversity Conservation Bill 2016 (“the Bill”) to the NSW Parliament. This Bill will reform current environmental law and replace a number of Acts including:

  • the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995;
  • the Nature Conservation Trust Act 2001; and
  • parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

The NSW Environment Minister Mark Speakman has described the Bill as aiming to “facilitate ecologically sustainable development while better conserving biodiversity across NSW”. The Environment Minister noted the positive impact he believes these reforms will have on NSW farmers, stating that “the legislation will finally rid regional NSW of the inequitable and unbalance Native Vegetation Act, and will replace it with a reform package that restores fairness for farmers.” [...]  READ MORE →

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Changes to Coastal Management

The Department of Planning and Environment and proposed new planning law reforms related to coastal management. The new policy will involve the introduction of Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy, which will replace the three existing State Environmental Planning Policies that relate to coastal management in NSW.

These planning policy reforms will introduce four new coastal management areas:

  • coastal vulnerability area
  • coastal use area
  • coastal environment area
  • coastal wetlands and littoral rainforests area
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    Proposed increases to penalties for offences under the Contaminated Land Management Act

    The NSW Government is proposing changes to the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (NSW).

    Some of the changes include increasing the maximum penalty for a company to $1M for some offences and the potential requirement of companies to provide financial assurance (such as bank guarantee) to cover environmental management orders.

    If you are a company that develops land in NSW or you think the activities on your land may give rise to contamination, contact our Commercial and Business Lawyer Parramatta for further business legal advice. [...]  READ MORE →