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The following list of Frequently Asked Questions are based on the Queensland legislative system. This page will be regularly updated as new Frequently Asked Questions arise.
If you have any queries on any of this information, please don't hesitate to Contact Us and speak to one of our friendly staff for assistance.
Disclaimer: The following information is offered as guidance only. Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this information, no assurances are given that the content is free from error. McCollum Environmental Management Services Pty Ltd and its officers, consultants, agents and employees take no responsibility whatsoever for any loss, damage or claim arising either directly or indirectly out of the use of this material.
General Questions
A. Every now and then you will need outside and objective assistance to manage your operation. This is not a time to just go with the lowest bid: you want the best for the job. At McCollum Environmental we believe that choosing the correct environmental consultant for your needs is essential and we have developed a simple yet effective checklist to help you to choose the right consultant for your job, and your business.
By downloading the following document and working through the four basic steps for choosing and managing the right consultant, your business will benefit through the engagement of a consultant who suits your specific needs.
Download - Choosing an Environmental Consultant Checklist
McCollum Environmental can offer objective advice which is not geared toward political advancement or promotion; is a frame of reference and based on best practice through industry experience; is based on methods which gain results more quickly than internal trial and error; and provides a permanent transfer of skills to your personnel.
As a consultant to your business, we do not rely on “off-the-shelf” methods which won’t suit your specific needs; we are sensitive to your business, culture and environment; we will not threaten your employees by the mere presence of an “outsider”; and we do not provide “ideal” solutions which will not be practical for your business.
At McCollum Environmental we value our clients and base our activities on the following simple rules:
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Asking a lot of questions; |
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Being analytical, and not having "standard" answers; |
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Seeking alternative solutions; |
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Using up-to-date information and methods; |
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Admitting when we do not have an answer, and finding the correct answer; |
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Having good experience in what you want done, and the contacts to call upon other industry experts to assist us; |
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Having staff who are people orientated and who can get along with a wide variety of beliefs and methods; |
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Involving everyone who is necessary to the project; |
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Keeping you informed on the progress of the contract; |
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Having a good reputation and references to support us; |
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Being clear on how our clients are billed, and for what; |
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Being conscious with your money. |
McCollum Environmental belongs to the Mining Industry Consultants Association (MICA), the Australian Institute of Management and the Queensland Chamber of Commerce. We take our work seriously and are willing to stand up to scrutiny.
A. Environmentally relevant activities include Crude Oil or Petroleum Product Storage, Extracting Rock or other Material, Screening Materials, Abrasive Blasting, Boiler Making or Engineering, Metal Surface Coating, Motor Vehicle Workshop, Cement Manufacturing, Concrete Batching, Sawmilling or Woodchipping. A complete list of activities is available in the Environmental Protection Regulations.
If you conduct environmentally relevant activities your local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency would have issued you with an environmental authority for these activities. An environmental authority is a licence to operate and lists conditions under which you must conduct your activity. These conditions can include limits on the noise you can make and the hours for this noise, water management and runoff controls which must be undertaken and limits on emissions you can release to the air. You must comply with these conditions or the governing authority can take action against your operations. These actions can include ceasing your activity and/or issuing you with a monetary penalty.
Contact Us if you have any doubts about the lawfulness of the activities you conducting.
Tenure Management
A. The Queensland mining lease application process has statutory timeframes, some of which cannot be shortened, even by the administering authorities. The mining lease application process consists of two parts – the tenure application process and the environmental approval process. Even though these two processes mostly run concurrently, due to the statutory timeframes a mining lease application process usually takes at least 12 to 18 months. These timeframes also depend on the size of your project and whether it requires an Environmental Management Plan or a full Environmental Impact Statement. Stakeholder relationships can also affect the timeframe for your project.
A. Formal objections received during the notification period will be handled via a formal process through the Queensland Land and Resources Tribunal. The Land and Resources Tribunal is an independent statutory body established under the Land and Resources Tribunal Act 1999. The Tribunal is the forum to deal with issues in dispute regarding but not limited to: applications for mining; to determine compensation for mining; to hear objections to environmental authorities (mining activities) and to review certain administrative decisions relating to mining made by the Environmental Protection Agency. The members of the Tribunal include persons of judicial-equivalent level (the President and Deputy Presidents) and others (non-presiding members including the Mining Referee) with experience in cultural heritage and indigenous issues, mining, mediation, native title, land or other issues. During this process, the progress of your project will be frozen until all disputes are resolved.
In order to avoid objections to your application, it is suggested that a thorough and effective community consultation program be implemented early in the process, and preferably prior to lodging your application with the Administering Authority.
Cultural Heritage Management
A. The purpose of a Cultural Heritage survey is to identify and record any Aboriginal cultural heritage that may be located within a project area. Under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003, any activities which have the potential to harm Aboriginal cultural heritage must consider the Duty of Care guidelines administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Water. These guidelines ensure that activities are managed to avoid or minimise harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Activities which involve clearing and land disturbance such as exploration drilling and seismic lines should be inspected by the appropriate Aboriginal Party/s prior to work commencing, enabling both the Project Operator and Aboriginal Party/s time to determine alternative options such as relocation of items or relocation of exploration areas. Cultural Heritage monitoring and clearance activities must also be conducted even after a full cultural heritage survey has been completed over a prescribed project area, unless otherwise authorised by the designated Aboriginal Party/s.
For further advice on when you might need to undertake a Cultural Heritage survey, please Contact Us.
A. When having Cultural Heritage surveys conducted over an area, it is important that you engage the correct Aboriginal Parties for that area. To correctly identify these Aboriginal Parties, the following activities should be undertaken as a minimum:
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Determine if the area is Freehold or Leasehold land; |
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Complete a National Native Title Tribunal search for the area, including a Claimant summary; |
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Complete a DNRW search of the Cultural Heritage Register and the Cultural Heritage Database; |
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Check for any existing Native Title Agreements over the area. |
When engaging the Aboriginal Parties for the area, it is important that all parties have a clear understanding of each others requirements. A notification should be sent to the Aboriginal Party to outline details of the exact location and type of works you are intending to undertake, a detailed description of the area required for the survey (including maps and GPS coordinates), preferred timing for the field survey and post survey requirements such as field inspection reports. At this time it is also recommended that survey party numbers and costs for the works are clarified.
If you require assistance with your Cultural Heritage requirements, please refer to our services for Cultural Heritage.
Environmental Management
A. If your exploration tenure has a Level 2 Environmental Authority, you are required to conduct activities in accordance with the Code of Environmental Compliance for Exploration Permits and you cannot conduct exploration activities involving machinery in or within 500 metres of an Endangered Regional Ecosystem. If you have applied to the Environmental Protection Agency to amend the conditions which relate to exploration in or within Endangered Regional Ecosystems, you may be permitted to conduct some exploration activities within these areas but it is suggested that you thoroughly check your conditions and if you are unsure, seek expert advice prior to undertaking any works.
If you currently operate under a Level 2 Environmental Authority, you can make an application to the Environmental Protection Agency for a Level 1 Environmental Authority for your exploration permit and submit an Environmental Management Plan to enable you to explore within Endangered Regional Ecosystems. This is a relatively simple process which can have little impact on your overall exploration program.
Our dedicated team of staff are experienced in providing advice on managing exploration activities within Endangered Regional Ecosystems so please don’t hesitate to Contact Us for assistance.
A. It is important that you begin planning early for your mining project. During the exploration phase you should start to consider environmental factors which may affect your project and conduct some baseline monitoring and research. When you apply for a mining lease you will require background information on many environmental factors including surface and groundwater, spoil/waste rock characteristics, noise, air, flora, fauna, cultural heritage and land resources. It is best that you commence gathering this information as soon as you can so that your monitoring accounts for seasonal variations.
Early planning for your project can also assist in mine planning matters and the early identification of environmental factors which may adversely affect your project and influence your mine planning.
To commence the early planning for your project, please Contact Us and speak to one of our friendly staff.
A. Under the Environmental Protection Act, there are certain project triggers which will determine whether you need to undertake an EIS for a mine development. However, it should be noted that even though there are predetermined triggers, the Environmental Protection Agency can at any time determine if your project requires a full EIS rather than an EM Plan.
An EIS requires significant background research and public consultation and input which can take considerable time. You need to prepare a Terms of Reference for the EIS which is released for public scrutiny. Once these Terms have been finalised, the EIS is prepared and again released for public scrutiny. An EIS also contains a lot more detailed information and does include an EM Plan as part of the document.
The EM Plan process is simpler in that it does not require the preparation of a Terms of Reference, although there are specific guidelines on what must be included in the EM Plan. An EM Plan process is often quicker than the EIS process and generally does not require as much public consultation. Regardless, the EM Plan process should include some public consultation.
Please don’t hesitate to Contact Us for further advice on whether your project will require the EIS or EM Plan process.
A. Following the approval of your mining lease and your Environmental Authority, a Plan of Operations must be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. This Plan must be prepared and submitted at least 28 days prior to operations commencing on site.
Your Plan of Operations will reflect the contents of your EM Plan or your EIS and your Environmental Authority. It will be your operational document which nominates how you will achieve your Environmental Authority conditions and the commitments in your EM Plan or EIS. A Plan of Operations has a maximum life of five years and can be submitted annually if you prefer or if you expect your operations to vary a lot in the initial few years.
If you need assistance with writing your Plan of Operations, don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
A. Environmental management on an operating mine should begin as soon as any activity on site commences. The Plan of Operations for your project takes effect immediately upon commencement of your operation. Under the Plan of Operations, you will have certain environmental management requirements and it is important that these are addressed and kept up to date rather than left to the last minute or picked up through a non-compliance or an Environmental Protection Agency audit.
For assistance with your site environmental management, refer to our Site Services page.
A. Your Plan of Operations will outline the basic requirements to keep your operation in compliance. You will be required to undertake certain management activities relating to surface and ground water, sewage treatment, drainage, erosion and sediment control, notifiable activities, waste, weeds, topsoil, clearing, landform stability, disturbance areas, rehabilitation, monitoring, pollution control, record keeping, emergency spills, incident reporting, noise, dust, vibration, etc.
Your Plan of Operations will also require updating to ensure that your Plan reflects the works undertaken on site. This could involve a simple amendment application to the Environmental Protection Agency or the submission of a fully revised Plan of Operations.
In addition to the management requirements in your Plan of Operations, there are other State and Federal evaluation and mandatory reporting such as Environmental Protection Agency Annual Returns, Regulated Waste Tracking, Energy Efficiency Opportunities and National Pollutant Inventory requirements.
McCollum Environmental have developed a simple system whereby all site environmental management activities can be scheduled and tracked for a particular project to ensure that all operations remain lawful and legal and all reporting to Administering Authorities is submitted on time. This system sets up a workgroup which links field personnel with our Mackay office personnel and all activities can be tracked to ensure site environmental management activities are kept up to date.
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