2015-06-23 Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                   23 JUNE 2015


State
Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES) include:
   Regulated vegetation (includes mapped essential habitat, “of concern” and
     “endangered” regional ecosystems)
   Connectivity
   Wetlands and waterways
   Wildlife Habitat
   Protected areas
   Marine Park Zones
   Fish Habitat Areas
   Fish passage
   Marine Plants
   Legally secure offset areas
Local
Matters of Local Environmental Significance (MLES) are environmental matters identified
within a local planning scheme or planning policy. For the purposes of the EO Act, Matters of
Local Environmental Significance cannot be the same as Matters of National Environmental
Significance or Matters of State Environmental Significance.
Local government may only impose offset conditions through the local planning scheme for
matters identified as Matters of Local Environmental Significance, as assessment manager
for the purposes of the State Planning Policy and for the SEQ Koala Conservation Planning
Regulatory Provisions. There is an opportunity to develop Matters of Local Environmental
Significance and have them identified in the new planning scheme.
Environmental Offsets (Transition) Regulation 2014, which expires 1 July 2015, effectively
amends the South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory
Provisions by reducing the amount of offset planting required. Previously an offset of 5 koala
habitat trees were required to be planted to offset the removal of 1 koala habitat tree. The
current regulation amends this ratio to 3 planted to offset 1 koala habitat tree removed.
3.      DELIVERY OF ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSETS
Environmental offsets are required to achieve a conservation outcome for the impacted
matter to maintain the viability of the impacted matter, relative to the undeveloped and “un-
offsetted” scenario. There are three types of offset delivery mechanisms being proponent –
driven, financial settlement or a combination of the previous two mechanisms. The
proponent must apply to the administrating agency, being either State or Council depending
on the matter, for the agreement to the proposed offset delivery approach, via a notice of
election.
3.1     Proponent – driven Offset
This delivery mechanism can take the form of a land-based offset, delivery through a Direct
Benefit Management Plan (DBMP) or a combination of both. The proponent must submit for
approval an offset delivery plan to the administrating agency.
Land-based offsets are not to exceed 4 times the area of the residual impact and must be
legally secured for the duration of the approved offset delivery plan. An area of land can be
legally secured under the EO Act by declaring it as Environmental Offset Protection Area.
A Direct Benefit Management Plan is described in an approved offset delivery plan and may
include enhancing, restoring and establishing key habitats across multiple tenures, threat
mitigation such as weed or feral animal control across multiple tenures, landscape scale fire
management activities, establishment and management of threatened fauna species or
planting of threatened plant species. A Direct Benefit Management Plan must be approved
by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) where the matter is of State
or Commonwealth interest and by local government for Matters of Local Environmental
Significance.

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