2015-06-23 Planning & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                     23 JUNE 2015


DA Planning & Environment
2                        ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSET LEGISLATION OVERVIEW
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                              Environment Officer, Conor Neville
                                    Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index                               ECM/Subject/Noosa Plan Planning Scheme
                                    ECM/Subject/Environment And Biodiversity Policy

Attachments                         Nil


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer to the Planning & Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 23 June 2015 and;
A.                       Request staff meet with the Department of Transport and Main Roads to seek that the
                         koala offset plantings associated with the Bruce Highway upgrade clearing in Noosa
                         Shire, be wholly and strategically located within the Noosa Shire, and report back to a
                         future Planning and Organisation Committee Meeting; and
B.                       Request that the Environmental Services staff:
                         1.   Identify potential Strategic Offset Investment Corridors in Noosa Shire for
                              inclusion into the new planning scheme;
                         2.   Develop a register of landholder interest;
                         3.   Investigate options for securing land for the purpose of providing advanced
                              offsets in conjunction with the Environment Levy Working Group;
                         4.   Investigate incorporating Matters of Local Environmental Significance into the
                              new planning scheme; and
                         5.   Present recommendations to a future meeting of Council.

REPORT
This report provides an overview of the recently introduced Queensland Government
Environmental Offsets Act 2014 and associated regulations and policy. On 1 July 2014 the
Environment Offset Act 2014 (the EO Act) commenced in Queensland providing a single
legal framework for environment–related offsets. The Act replaces previous legal offset
mechanisms that dealt with a variety of environmental matters requiring offsets.

1.                       PURPOSE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSETS ACT 2014
The main purpose of the Act is to counterbalance the significant residual impacts of
particular activities on prescribed environmental matters through the use of offsets. A
significant residual impact is defined by the Act as an adverse impact, whether direct or
indirect, of a prescribed activity on all or part of a prescribed environmental matter that will
remain and is significant. A prescribed activity is an activity that is authorised under another
Act, for which an offset condition can be imposed and prescribed under a regulation. A
prescribed environmental matter is defined in Section 2.



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