Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment for Potential
Coal and Petroleum Exploration Release Areas
October 2015
Overview
The NSW Government is committed to an improved, strengthened and transparent regulatory
and planning framework that governs the way resource exploration will occur in New South
Wales.
Following the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Jasper and Acacia
investigations into corrupt conduct in the issuing of coal exploration licences, ICAC released the
report Reducing the opportunities and incentives for corruption in the State’s management of
coal resources in October 2013. This report included a range of recommendations for improving
the management of the State’s coal resources.
In response to the ICAC recommendations, the NSW Government committed to preparing a
framework for a whole-of-government assessment of where, when, and how coal resources are
to be released for exploration.
Following the release of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer’s Final Report of the Independent
Review of Coal Seam Gas Activities in NSW in September 2014, the Government made a decision
that both coal and gas exploration licences will be issued through a single and harmonised
Strategic Release Framework.
The Strategic Release Framework for Coal and Petroleum establishes clear processes for the
issuing of licences, strengthens transparency through competitive release processes, and
provides for community consultation at the first consideration of coal or petroleum exploration.
As part of this Framework, the Government has established the Advisory Body for Strategic
Release to advise on technical and strategic issues relating to the Framework. The Advisory Body
will also provide recommendations to the Government about the issuing of exploration licences.
DPE’s role in the Framework is to conduct a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment to inform
the Advisory Body for Strategic Release about environmental, economic and social issues at a
regional or sub-regional scale that will help the Advisory Body make its recommendations about
whether the Government should release an area for coal and gas exploration.
This paper outlines how DPE will undertake Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments and what
matters are likely to be considered. Importantly, these assessments should not be seen as a
precursor or factor to be considered in any future development application, which will involve a
much more detailed assessment of impacts.
The Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment will be a high-level assessment of existing data
sources and current government policy only.
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What are Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments?
A Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment is an assessment undertaken by DPE of a region or subregion which identifies potential risks and opportunities relating to coal and petroleum
exploration in the area.
As they are strategic-level assessments of a region, the assessment area may not necessarily
reflect the shape, location and size of any future exploration licence or lease area that may be
issued.
When will Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments be undertaken?
Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments will be undertaken for coal and petroleum exploration
resource areas proposed for future competitive release. They will not be undertaken for
applications for ancillary works, such as modifications or expansions to existing mines.
What is the purpose of a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment?
The purpose of a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment is to advise the Advisory Body for
Strategic Release, which in turn provides advice to the Minister for Industry, Resources and
Energy about the allocation of new coal and petroleum exploration licences.
The Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment will include the preparation of the following
information:
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a report summarising the key issues at a regional or sub-regional scale, as well as
identifying any limitations to the data used for the identification of impacts;
a map, or series of maps, identifying the proposed exploration release area with overlays
of relevant and key information; and
a summary of relevant data.
The Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment reports will provide the Advisory Body with a snapshot of each potential coal or gas release area. This information will assist the Advisory Body in
making its recommendations to the Government on the release of areas for exploration. The
Advisory Body’s recommendations may include what areas to release for coal or petroleum
exploration and under what terms (for example, the form of mining or licence conditions
required to address issues identified in the Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment).
The Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment does not change the need for a development
application, or duplicate the more detailed assessments undertaken as part of the development
assessment process for a mining operation. As the Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment is
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being undertaken before an exploration licence has been issued, it will not involve the detailed
environmental assessments that are undertaken as part of the development assessment process
for State significant mining and petroleum projects. Importantly, Preliminary Regional Issues
Assessments will not pre-empt the outcome of any future development assessment of a mining
or petroleum project. Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments will also be undertaken at arm’s
length from those involved in assessing development applications and may be conducted by
external advisors on behalf of DPE.
How will a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment be undertaken?
A Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment provides an initial identification and consolidation of
relevant environmental, economic and social information relating to the proposed release area.
Preliminary Regional Issues Assessments will focus on:
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identifying the high level, environmental, economic and social considerations readily
evident at the regional or sub-regional level;
utilising data contained in existing data sets or accessible from other information sources
identified as relevant; and
examining potential risks associated with exploration and development at the point in
time at which the preliminary regional issues assessment is conducted (e.g. significant
environmental concerns and land use conflicts; potential burdens on existing and future
developments and infrastructure, risks to Government).
DPE will undertake the assessment utilising current available data and information. This process
is not intended to develop or gather new base-line data on sub-regions. As a result, no new
mapping or new research will be undertaken to gather data, but instead the assessment will rely
on existing information supplied by relevant State and Commonwealth agencies. Each
assessment will comment on the availability and quality of the data relied upon for making
judgements. Because of this, the assessments will be based on a particular point in time, using
existing data and will rely on existing government policy.
If an exploration licence is granted, the licence holder will be required to collect more substantial
and comprehensive data to inform any future applications or proposals.
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What matters will be considered in Preliminary Regional Issues
Assessment?
The matters to be considered through the Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment will be broad,
but will include environmental, economic and social matters, as well as strategic considerations
at the regional and sub-regional level. Matters that may be considered, depending on the
relevance to the region and the availability of data, include:
1. Environmental considerations
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drinking water storage areas and impacts on town water supplies;
water supply constraints including access to water/competing water use industries;
practical constraints on future operations such as disposal of incidental water;
known biophysical, environmental and heritage features (including the presence of
biophysical strategic agricultural land), protected areas and areas of environmental
significance or high sensitivity;
biodiversity considerations;
water sources for catchments, rivers and aquifers; and
matters of national environmental significance identified at a regional scale.
2. Economic considerations
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availability and access to existing infrastructure and utilities;
existence and activities of other industries (for example, agricultural industries or industry
clusters);
strategic resource significance, where known, including:
o estimated production (approximate millions of tonnes per year), capital
expenditure, employment, export revenue and royalties;
o DRE’s Resource Assessment, which includes assessment of size, quality, thickness,
depth and availability of the resource and other factors including proximity to
competing resources (minerals);
access to markets;
access to downstream processing or other related / dependent industries and other
industry considerations identified at the Resource Assessment stage by DRE; and
proximity to future infrastructure, to the extent known by the NSW Government.
3. Social considerations
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practical constraints on future operations that may result from known risks to the health,
safety and amenity of local communities;
heritage values of the region, including Aboriginal cultural heritage; and
the ability of the region to manage potential impacts on local employment, housing
supply, infrastructure, transport and community services.
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The assessments will also address cumulative impacts, including the compounding of any
environmental impacts caused by existing or possible future mining activities.
As discussed above, there will be limitations to the conclusions that can be drawn from the
analysis of the above factors, particularly where there is an absence of data.
How can the community get involved in a Preliminary Regional
Issues Assessment?
As noted above, the purpose of a Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment is to inform the
Advisory Body for Strategic Release and support its role in providing advice to Government on
the issuing of exploration licences.
The public will be engaged early in the process. Through this consultation, stakeholders and the
community will be asked to identify matters and concerns that DPE should consider as part of a
Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment.
Community and stakeholders will be notified of the intention to undertake a Preliminary
Regional Issues Assessment for a region or sub-region through the placement of an advert in
relevant newspapers, which will include details of how submissions can be made and the
relevant timeframes for input.
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