PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Recent changes to the Australian environmental regulations will require all environment plans for offshore oil and gas activities to be published, and draft environment plans for offshore seismic and exploratory drilling activities to be opened for public comment.
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said on Tuesday that the new requirements were part of a suite of changes to improve consultation and increase transparency of offshore oil and gas activities.
“Australians need to be confident that oil and gas activities being carried out offshore meet our stringent environmental regulations, and that all environmental risks and impacts of the proposed activity are taken into account,” Canavan said.
“The public will have a 30-day comment period to give feedback on the environmental management of proposed seismic and exploration drilling activities, providing a new level of accountability.”
The environment plans for all offshore activities will be published when they are submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema), before being assessed.
“If the plan is accepted by Nopsema, it will be published, along with an explanation of how public comments have been taken into account, enabling the community to see how their concerns have been addressed,” the Minister said.
The new regulations will come into action on April 25, with Canavan noting that all draft environment plans submitted from that date onwards will be published on the Nopsema website, along with information on how to make comments on the plans.