The set of matters to be investigated and documented in an EES is the scope of an EES. The detailed scope for an EES is set out in the ‘scoping requirements’ issued for each project by the Minister.
How will scoping requirements be developed?
To assist scoping, the proponent should provide a preliminary list of issues to be investigated and a draft study program. The Minister will consider this information from the proponent together with advice from relevant agencies and authorities in preparing draft scoping requirements.
The draft scoping requirements for a project are generally prepared within 20 business days of receiving the required information from the proponent. The draft scoping requirements will then be released for comment by interested parties for a minimum of 15 business days. The proponent is asked to pay for advertising costs for notices in at least one daily newspaper and in one or more local paper circulating in the area of the rural or regional project.
Scoping requirements will normally be finalised within 15 business days of the close of the public comment period and made publicly available on this website.
Scoping requirements can be amended during the preparation of an EES if substantive technical clarifications are needed, significant changes to a project proposal occur or unforeseen and significant issues are identified. The proponent will be consulted before changes are made.
What consultation occurs during the preparation of an EES?
As part of the preparation of an EES, the proponent has responsibility for informing the public and consulting with stakeholders. Stakeholders include potentially affected and interested parties.
The proponent is required to prepare and implement a consultation plan. A draft plan, together with a preliminary listing of stakeholder issues, should be provided to us for consideration. We will advise the proponent on the refinement of the plan so that it provides for effective consultation. Once the plan is finalised, it will be published on this website.
The proponent should ensure that potential stakeholders have access to information about the consultation plan and make copies of the plan available on request. There may be a need to provide access to information (in a summary form) in languages other than English, depending on the cultural backgrounds of social groups potentially affected by a project.
Where a project may affect Aboriginal cultural heritage or other Indigenous interests, the proponent’s representative should make early contact with relevant Indigenous organisations to identify matters of interest and discuss opportunities for their involvement.
What is a Technical Reference Group?
The process for preparing an EES will normally include the establishment of a Technical Reference Group (TRG). A TRG is specifically appointed for a project to advise on the preparation of an EES.
A TRG’s membership is drawn from bodies such as Government agencies, regional authorities and municipal councils that have a statutory or policy interest in the project.
The proponent will participate in TRG meetings, by providing information and discussing relevant issues.
What does a Technical Reference Group do?
The primary role of a TRG is to advise:
- the Department on matters that should be included in the scoping requirements for an EES
- the proponent on the need for and adequacy of technical EES studies in terms of their consistency with good practice standards of methodology and analysis
- the Department on the technical adequacy of the proposed EES, as well as the adequacy of its response to relevant matters.
The TRG provides advice and assistance to the proponent on:
- required statutory approvals and coordination of procedures
- relevant policy provisions and related information requirements
- study briefs and methodologies for key studies
- availability of relevant data sets and research
- conformity of the proposal and EES studies with policy and statutory requirements
- design and implementation of the proponent’s consultation plan
- adequacy of EES specialist study reports.
Agencies and authorities participating in a TRG are expected to provide accurate and timely advice regarding matters for which their organisations have specific responsibility.
What should be included in an EES?
The content of an EES will be guided by the scoping requirements set for each project by the Minister, following advice from the Department.
Scoping requirements and EES documentation should be prepared in the context of the principles of a systems approach and proportionality to risk.
A systems approach involves the consideration of potentially affected environmental systems and interacting environmental elements and processes. This will enable potential interdependencies to be identified, helping to focus relevant investigations and identify opportunities to avoid, mitigate or manage adverse effects. An inter-disciplinary approach should be adopted where appropriate.
A risk-based approach should be adopted in the assessment of environmental effects so that suitable, intensive, best practice methods can be applied to accurately assess those matters that involve relatively high levels of risk of significant adverse effects and to guide the design of strategies to manage these risks. Simpler or less comprehensive methods of investigation may be applied to matters that can be shown to involve lower levels of risk.
Implementation of a risk-based approach means that a staged study design may be appropriate. The initial phase of investigation will characterise environmental assets that may be affected, potential threats arising from a project and the potential environmental consequences. This phase will enable the design of any necessary further studies proportionate to the risk to analyse the consequences and likelihood of adverse effects.
Matters to be examined
Matters commonly investigated and documented in an EES are:
Description of the project
A clear and sufficiently detailed description of the proposed project is needed to enable the effective assessment of potential environmental effects.
This description should set out:
- project rationale and objectives
- location, technology and design of project components
- site characteristics and surrounding area
- communities, properties and/or residences that may be affected by the proposal, including a description of the way that they may be affected
- proposed methods for mitigating adverse environmental effects and risks
- proposed program and time schedule for project implementation
- proposed method for implementing the project, including responsibility for construction, operation and where relevant, decommissioning.
Description and assessment of relevant alternatives
An EES should investigate and document the environmental effects of relevant alternatives for a project. Alternatives may be:
- siting and layout alternatives, where some flexibility is available in terms of site suitability and availability
- design or process alternatives, where one of several approaches could be applied
- scale, where the magnitude of the project might be varied in response to demand or constraint factors
- timing of project activities
- staging of project development, where construction, operational or other factors might necessitate or provide an option for staged implementation.
A description of the process of screening alternatives as part of the project planning or design process, leading to a short-list of preferred alternatives, should be included in the EES.
Where a feasible option provides a distinct opportunity for superior environmental outcomes, this should be investigated and documented in the EES. Detailed assessment of particular alternatives is necessary where alternatives have the potential to deliver suitable social, environmental and economic outcomes.
An EES will not normally be required to document alternatives to a project proposal, as opposed to alternatives for a project. However, a discussion in an EES of the rationale for a project will be appropriate. The only alternative to a project proposal that will routinely be described in detail in an EES is the ‘no project’ scenario.
The ‘no project’ scenario provides the baseline for describing the potential environmental effects from a project. The ‘no project’ scenario sets the current and anticipated conditions if the project did not proceed. It may also be appropriate for an EES to describe alternative scenarios for after-use of a site, where an assessed activity (such as a mine) would have a finite life and different after-uses might be possible
Relevant environmental effects
An EES should provide an assessment of a project’s potential effects on the following matters, including their interactions, where relevant: