Emissions and discharges

Legislation: Part V Division 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) (EP Act)
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Overview

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) has responsibility under Part V Division 3 of the EP Act for granting works approvals, licences, and registrations for prescribed premises. Part V Division 3 regulates emissions and discharges to prevent unacceptable impacts to public health or the environment.
You can find an overview of the works approval and licensing process on the DWER one-stop-shop website.

See the Industry regulation guide to licensing and the Procedure: Prescribed premises works approvals and licences for more details.

Common categories of prescribed premises relevant to the mining industry include:

  • Category 5: Processing or beneficiation of metallic or non-metallic ore: comprising crushing or grinding, or tailings storage or reprocessing (production or design capacity of 50,000 tonnes or more per year).
     
  • Category 6: Mine dewatering: premises on which water is extracted and discharged into the environment to allow mining of ore (production or design capacity of 50,000 tonnes or more per year).
     
  • Category 7: Vat or in situ leaching of metal: premises on which metal is extracted from ore with a chemical solution (production or design capacity of 5,000 tonnes or more per year).

The full list of prescribed premises categories is in Schedule 1 of the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 (WA).

Timeline

DWER has a target timeframe of 60 business days to assess an application. This includes the following processes (where applicable):

  • validating the application and supporting information
  • public advertising of the works approval or licence application
  • directly referring the application to people or public authorities with a direct interest in the application or other stakeholders
  • assessing the application and considering submissions lodged
  • drafting the decision report, works approval, licence, registration, or amendment
  • considering applicant comments on drafts.

The timeframe does not include time taken by the applicant to:

  • pay the prescribed fee
  • submit further information when asked in writing
  • respond to draft documents or instruments, or a notice of the department’s intended refusal to grant.

All targets are subject to sufficient information being supplied on lodgement to assess the application.

Before you apply

Before you apply, read the overview of the works approval and licensing process on the DWER one-stop-shop website.

Stages of application

Prepare

What to consider before applying for a Works Approval or Licence (emissions and discharges) application

You should read the Industry regulation guide to licensing (PDF) to help you prepare information in the best possible manner. This will support the efficient and effective processing of your application.

Lodge and validate

You can find an application form on the department’s website.

The application form gives instructions on how to complete the application. It also tells you what additional information you may need to supply.

You must pay the prescribed fee for an application for a works approval, licence, amendment, registration or transfer.

DWER will contact you in the following circumstances:

  • if you need to supply any further information for initial validation of the application
  • when it sends you an invoice for the application fee (after it validates your application)
  • when it accepts your application and progresses it to assessment (after you have paid your invoice).

Planning for approvals

Parallel processing can help reduce a proposal’s overall approval timeline. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) and DWER are committed to parallel processing of environmental applications where multiple approvals are required.

Assessment

How your application is assessed.

Find out more about the assessment process on the DWER one-stop-shop website.

When DWER assesses your application, it will:

  • determine an appropriate assessment pathway
  • determine if you must supply further information
  • consider any submissions received from third parties after the advertising period ends
  • assess your application based on the best information it has available to it
  • determine what conditions are appropriate to attach to the instrument (when proposing to grant the application)
  • give you the draft decision for comment before finalisation
  • consider any of your comments on the draft decision
  • finalise its decision (and, if applicable, issue an instrument)
  • advertise its decision.

Note: You must respond if the department says your information is inadequate or missing.

Decision

How to manage an active Emissions and discharges application

DWER will record its decision-making process for assessing an application in a decision report. This report will reflect the information it obtained and used in the assessment.

Appeals

How the outcome of your application may be challenged.

Read about the appeals process (decision review process) on the DWER one-stop-shop website.

Post decision

What do you need to be aware of post decision.

You must comply with the conditions of your works approval or licence (sections 53 and 56 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986).

Your licence conditions will ask you to lodge an annual compliance assessment report and (in most cases) an annual environment report, including the results of environmental monitoring.

You must pay an annual licence fee. See the DWER one-stop-shop website for more information about fees.

Mining environmental approvals