Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00998:reg:21:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00998
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 21 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 33188–36157

21  Environmental assessment

Description of the activity
 (1) The environment plan must contain a comprehensive description of the activity including the following:
 (a) the location or locations of the activity;
 (b) general details of the construction and layout of any facility that is used in undertaking the activity;
 (c) an outline of the operational details of the activity (for example, seismic surveys, exploration drilling or production) and proposed timetables for undertaking the activity;
 (d) any additional information relevant to consideration of environmental impacts and risks of the activity.
Note: An environment plan will not be capable of being accepted by NOPSEMA if an activity or part of the activity, other than arrangements for environmental monitoring or for responding to an emergency, will be undertaken in any part of a declared World Heritage property (see section 34).

Description of the environment
 (2) The environment plan must:
 (a) describe the existing environment that may be affected by the activity; and
 (b) include details of the relevant values and sensitivities (if any) of that environment.
Note: The definition of environment in section 5 includes its social, economic and cultural features.
 (3) Without limiting paragraph (2)(b), relevant values and sensitivities may include any of the following:
 (a) the world heritage values of a declared World Heritage property;
 (b) the National Heritage values of a National Heritage place;
 (c) the ecological character of a declared Ramsar wetland;
 (d) the presence of a listed threatened species or listed threatened ecological community;
 (e) the presence of a listed migratory species;
 (f) any values and sensitivities that exist in, or in relation to, part or all of:
 (i) a Commonwealth marine area; or
 (ii) Commonwealth land.

Requirements
 (4) The environment plan must:
 (a) describe the requirements, including legislative requirements, that apply to the activity and are relevant to the environmental management of the activity; and
 (b) demonstrate how those requirements will be met.

Evaluation of environmental impacts and risks
 (5) The environment plan must include:
 (a) details of the environmental impacts and risks of the activity; and
 (b) an evaluation of all the environmental impacts and risks, appropriate to the nature and scale of each impact or risk; and
 (c) details of the control measures that will be used to reduce the impacts and risks of the activity to as low as reasonably practicable and an acceptable level.
 (6) To avoid doubt, the evaluation mentioned in paragraph (5)(b) must evaluate all of the environmental impacts and risks arising directly or indirectly from:
 (a) all operations of the activity; and
 (b) any potential emergency conditions, whether resulting from an accident or any other cause.

Environmental performance outcomes and standards
 (7) The environment plan must:
 (a) set environmental performance standards