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Who is Responsible for Infrastructure in Flood Prone Land Downstream of Warragamba Dam?

Summary

The floods earlier this year have resulted in many questioning who is responsible for infrastructure being built on flood prone land, and how it can be stopped, given the resulting devastation to homes and business. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act establishes the framework for provision of Environmental Planning Instruments (‘EPIs’) which set out how land can be used for development purposes by dividing land into different land use types, called ‘zones’ .  The EPI determines what type of developments can occur on different ‘zones’ within each of Councils Local Government Area’s. This includes provision for what can and cannot be built on flood prone land.  There are two different types of EPIs being Local Environmental Plans (‘LEPs’) and State Environment Planning Policies (‘SEPPs’). These, in conjunction with developers building on flood prone land and the unique constraints associated with Warragamba Dam, have contributed flooding in areas within the Hawkesbury Nepean catchments. [...]  READ MORE →

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Updated Guidance for Councils – Flood Prone Land

On 14 July 2021, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment introduced updated guidance for councils in respect of flooding in land-use planning, to support better management of flood risk beyond the 1% annual exceedance probability (“AEP”), and to ensure best management practises in managing and mitigating severe to extreme flood events. The updated guidance and materials are:

  1. a new planning circular: Considering flooding in land use planning: guidance and statutory requirements (and revoking the existing planning circular PS 07-003);
  2. a new guideline: Considering Flooding in Land Use Planning (2021) (and revoking the Guideline on Development Controls on Low Flood Risk Areas);
  3. an amendment to clause 7A of Schedule 4 to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. The changes will simplify the notation to advise of flood-related development controls up to the flood planning area (clause 7A(1)) or between the flood planning area and the PMF (clause 7A(2));
  4. two standard instrument local environmental plan (LEP) clauses which introduce flood related development controls (one mandatory, one optional);
  5. a SEPP amendment to replace councils existing flood planning clause with the new mandatory standard instrument clause; and
  6. a revised local planning direction regarding flooding issued under section 9.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Section 10.7 Planning Certificates

Under Schedule 4: There are new requirements in section 10.7 planning certificates for land affected by flood-related development controls. [...]  READ MORE →