User:Jdbrett/sandbox

Environmental planning in Australia is the responsibility of state and territory regulators. Although each state and territory has it's own regulatory authorities, the regulations have many similarities, drawing from federal guidelines and measures, and/or those of other states.

Background
maybe give more history The incorporation of environmental considerations in land-use planning in Australia began after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. One of the key principles developed in reference to planning and human activity was:

Principle 13 In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve environment for the benefit of their population.

Previous to this conference the United States Congress passed National Environmental Policy Act, which created a process whereby government agencies were required to publicly state and justify the environmental impacts of their development proposals by preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS structure was further developed by Burchell and Listokin (1975), and this approach has informed the development of environmental impact regulation worldwide , and resulted in the development of legislation within several Australian states.''

should include the first acts that incorporated this in Aus, current text suggests they are from 1975+

Regulatory framework
build this up more, possibly redo it, check for errors Environmental planning policies vary from state to state. Relevant environment protection, planning & administering agencies and legislation at the level of commonwealth, states & territories are discussed below.

Commonwealth
Key organisations and roles

Department of the Environment and Energy -Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

National Environment Protection Council - National Environment Protection Council Act 1994, and National Environment Protection Measures (NEPMs).

Motivation behind NEPMs? NEPMs are targeted, national environmental objectives, which are implemented individually by states and territories. There are seven individual NEPMs:
 * Air Toxics
 * Ambient Air Quality
 * Assessment of Site Contamination
 * Diesel Vehicle Emissions
 * Movement of Controlled Waste
 * National Pollutant Inventory
 * Used Packaging

New South Wales
Department of Planning and Environment

Queensland
Sustainable Planning Act 2009 Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (Queensland)

South Australia
Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016

Development Regulations 2008

Tasmania
Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993

Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1993

Victoria
Planning and Environment Act 1987

Planning and Environment Regulations 2005

Planning and Environment (Fees) Regulations 2016

Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act 2009

Transport Integration Act 2010

Western Australia
Planning and Development Act 2005 - Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage Environmental Protection Act 1986 - Department of Water and Environmental Regulation & Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia

Northern Territory
Environmental Assessment Act - Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA)

Australian Capital Territory
Planning and Development Act 2007 - Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Authority

External territories
Environmental regulations from Western Australia apply to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands under the Territories Law Reform Act 1992''

New South Wales
In NSW the first attempt to incorporate environmental assessment and protection into planning law began in 1974 with the appointment of a Planning and Environment Commission to overhaul the existing predominately urban land-use system. After various delays the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) came into force on 1 September 1980. The EP&A Act incorporated a three tired system of State, Regional and Local levels of significance, and required the relevant control authority to take into consideration the impacts to the environment (both natural and built) and the community of proposed development or land-use change. Within the EP&A Act most development requires a Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) or Review of Environmental Effects (REF) detailing the impacts to both natural and human environments, which should be taken into consideration by the regulatory authority. Significant projects require a more thorough Environmental Impact Assessment with a corresponding greater public scrutiny.

Concurrent with this development was the establishment of a parallel legal system, the Land and Environment Court, to arbitrate disputes. The EP&A Act has been amended over time, generally giving the government, acting through the Minister, greater powers to determine approval of development, particularly large projects of 'State Significance', but also to incorporate specific environmental laws, such as the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (Park 2010).

Victoria
The Environment Effects Act 1978 was the first environmental planning control in Victoria, and it assessed the environmental impact of significant developments via an Environmental Effects Statement (EES). However the obligation for presenting an EES remained somewhat unclear and is ultimately at the discretion of the Minister for Planning (Eccles and Bryant 2007). The Planning and Environment Act 1987 created a statewide nested planning process, Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP) which has within the statewide objectives:

"the protection of natural and man-made resources and the maintenance of ecological processes and genetic diversity" (PaE Act 1987, s4(1))

To achieve these ends, the VPP includes several overarching policy frameworks, including the identification of important environmental values and assets, such as 'protection of catchments, waterways and groundwater', 'coastal areas' and 'Conservation of native flora and fauna'. Below this level, local planning schemes identify land-uses through Zone designation, and also identify land affected by other criteria, called 'overlays'. Overlays include environmental parameters such as 'Environmental Significance', 'Vegetation Protection', 'Erosion Management' and 'Wildfire Management', but also social issues like 'Neighbourhood Character'. Below this again are various regulations on particular issues, such as details pertaining to regulation of areas of Native Vegetation DSE Victoria

Reform has occurred to the Victorian framework in recent years aimed at improving land use and transport outcomes including consideration of environmental impacts. The Transport Integration Act identifies key planning agencies as interface bodies required to have regard to a vision for the transport system and objectives and decision making principles if decisions are likely to have a significant impact on Victoria's transport system. In addition, the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act 2009 establishes a scheme to improve the approval and delivery of major rail, road and ports projects.

South Australia
Planning in South Australia is coordinated within the Development Act 1993. Under this law most urban and land-use planning is assessed against local plans of allowed development. The Minister must declare a proposed development either 'Major Development' or a 'Major Project' for it to be subjected to greater depth of environmental assessment and public consultation, via an independent Development Assessment Commission of experts. Complex proposals will generally require an indepth EIS. Planning SA

Queensland
The Integrated Planning Act 1997 vested most planning control with local government, but required 'significant projects' to be assessed by a State Coordinator General and usually required an environmental impact statement (EIS).

This has been replaced by the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 which came into force 18 December 2009. This law aims to 'improve sustainable environmental outcomes through streamlined processes', and incorporates Statewide, Regional and local planning hierarchies, which follow the model of Victoria's VPP. The Coordinator General may still declare projects to be 'significant projects' which then require assessment under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (Qld).