NSW streamlines standard mining lease conditions

On 17 October 2013, the NSW Resources and Energy Minister Chris Hartcher announced significant amendments to the standard conditions for mining leases to reduce regulatory duplication. The amendments will result in the removal of conditions that that seek to address matters already regulated by other government departments, such as the Department of Planning. The amendments will also involve the deletion of conditions that are covered by obligations under the Mining Act and other mine safety legislation, as well as other conditions that have become outdated and redundant.

The removal of the duplications will cut the number of conditions for future standard coal mining leases in NSW from 24 to nine, and for other mining leases from 23 to eight. The NSW announcement comes a week after the Queensland government said it would streamline the approvals process for exploration permits for coal and mineral exploration.

NSW Resources and Energy Minister Chris Hartcher said the changes are part of a range of actions the Government is taking to minimise the costs of doing business in NSW and boost investment certainty. The NSW Government has already committed to new service delivery standards, reducing the times for assessing applications under the Mining Act from 1 July 2013. Target time frames for assessing all minerals applications will be cut to 45 business days (from 80 business days), while times for processing coal applications and coal renewals will be reduced to 95 business days and 55 business days respectively.

NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Package unveiled

What’s new?

The NSW Government has today released the long awaited final Strategic Regional Land Use package (SRLU Package). The SRLU Package contains a suite of new plans, policies and codes aimed at reducing land use conflicts between agricultural land use and mining and coal seam gas (CSG) projects. The SRLU Package provides the NSW mining and CSG industry with some much needed certainty as to how the mining and CSG industry will be regulated going forward.

So what is the SRLU Package? 

The Strategic Regional Land Use package consists of:

1. the Strategic Regional Land Use Plan - New England North West;
2. the Strategic Regional Land Use Plan - Upper Hunter;
3. the Aquifer Interference Policy; and
4. two CSG specific codes of practice:

• the Code of Practice for Coal Seam Gas - Well Integrity; and
• the Code of Practice for Coal Seam Gas - Fracture Stimulation Activities.

For further information follows this link to Freehills latest NSW Environment and Planning update.

Victoria declares ban on fraccing

The Victorian Government has declared bans on:

• approvals to undertake hydraulic fracturing or “fraccing” as part of onshore gas exploration; and
• the issue of new exploration licences for coal seam gas (CSG).

This move follows the ban on fraccing by the New South Wales Government, which has been in place since July 2011.

The measures taken by the Victorian Government do not affect exploration activity approved under current CSG exploration licences that do not involve fraccing, such as surveying and drilling for core samples.

It appears that the bans are a response by the Victorian Government to the pressure exerted by regional community groups, as described in our blog entry of 13 June 2012.

According to the Victorian Government, the bans will remain in place until a national harmonised framework for CSG has been developed. The work program to deliver this framework was announced in December 2011 by Energy and Resources Ministers from across Australia, and results of that work are expected in December this year.

The Minerals Council of Australia has said the Victorian Government’s measures in relation to CSG are ‘profoundly disappointing’. In particular, it states that the decision to rely on the development of a national framework for CSG is ‘concerning’ as the framework may be delayed for years, meaning that Victoria would miss the opportunity to develop an industry that could generate jobs and significant revenue for the state.

Similarly, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) has said that the Victorian Government’s decision to put the bans in place ‘sends the wrong message to investors and will see the state fall further behind Australia’s rapidly growing resource-rich states’.

There is currently no CSG production in Victoria, and exploration for CSG is in an embryonic stage. Fraccing does not currently occur in Victoria.