Mine Closure Completion Guideline available
Date: Friday, 12 November 2021
Following extensive consultation, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) has released a new Mine Closure Completion Guideline, and the response to submissions to the draft version is also available online.
The Guideline clarifies what evidence tenement holders should provide to show they have met all the agreed closure outcomes and rehabilitation criteria as outlined in their mine closure plan.
A/Executive Director Resource and Environmental Compliance Dan Endacott said a key theme arising from the feedback received was clarifying how the Mine Closure Completion Report fits into the mine closure planning process.
“The Guideline has been updated to include a diagram outlining how this document fits into the life of mine process.”
“DEMIRS considers it important that the requirements under the Mining Act are clearly articulated, as this will inform broader work across government on mine closure and relinquishment.”
“DEMIRS thanks all stakeholders for their considered input into the process.”
More information is available on the DEMIRS website.
Annual environmental reporting system changes
The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) has simplified its online annual environmental reporting (AER) system to streamline the information requested from proponents and improve system performance.
The information requested in an AER is now focussed on providing details regarding compliance with environmental and closure outcomes, as well as providing information on the status of rehabilitation and mine closure. Further guidance has been included in the online lodgement form to support the reporting process to be undertaken on environmental outcomes.
Another key change is that the AER will no longer request assessment of compliance against each individual tenement condition and will instead require reporting by exception, if there are instances where a condition has not been met.
A helpful video outlining the changes is available online.
These updates will go live tomorrow, Tuesday 13 July 2021, and the system will automatically alter any ‘in progress’ applications as of this date.
For any enquiries please email EARSManager@dmirs.wa.gov.au or call the EARS Manager on 08 9222 3535.
Deferral of Statutory Guideline review to facilitate progression of the Streamlining (Mining Amendment) Bill 2021.
The Department of EMines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) has deferred the scheduled review of the Statutory Guidelines relating to Mining Proposals and Mine Closure Plans in Western Australia and associated guidance documentation. The deferral has occurred to progress the Mining Act 1978 amendments, which set to modernise the mining sector regulatory framework (Streamlining Mining Amendment Bill 2021). DEMIRS will commence stakeholder consultation on the Statutory Guidelines and associated information in 2022. The feedback received will inform the development of the necessary changes to the guideline documents, required as part of implementation of the Bill provisions.
Mining Act 1978 amendments set to modernise the mining sector regulatory framework
The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) is seeking feedback from industry on proposed amendments to the Mining Act 1978.
The Streamlining (Mining Amendment) Bill 2021 aims to make legislative changes to improve efficiencies for the application and assessment of environmental approvals and support economic recovery following COVID-19.
DEMIRS Executive Director Resource and Environmental Compliance Karen Caple said: “Through the introduction of a low impact notification for the automated authorisation of low impact activities and the introduction of a single approvals statement for mining operations, the department hopes to modernise the regulatory framework and further reinforce a risk and outcomes based approach to regulation.
“This approach will also allow the department to redirect its focus to higher risk matters.”
The Streamlining (Mining Amendment) Bill 2021 is now available for public comment until Friday 25 June 2021 and an information sheet with details on the proposed amendments is available online.
DEMIRS will be holding a number of information sessions in May in Perth, Bunbury and Kalgoorlie to provide an overview of the Bill.
To attend an information session, please register promptly on the Eventbrite website:
DEMIRS Information Session Perth
- Date: Friday 14 May 2021 10.30am – 11.30am OR Tuesday 25 May 2021 1pm – 2pm
- Location: DMIRS Office, 1 Adelaide Terrace East Perth
DEMIRS Information Session Kalgoorlie
- Date: Tuesday 18 May 2021 11.30am – 12.30pm OR 2.00pm – 3.00pm
- Location: DMIRS Office, Cnr Hunter and Broadwood Streets, West Kalgoorlie
DEMIRS Information Session Bunbury
- Date: Friday 21 May 2021 11.00am – 12.00pm
- Location: DMIRS Office, Bunbury Tower 8th Floor 61 Victoria Street, Bunbury.
If you are unable to make one of the above timeslots or if you are located further afield and interested in an information session contact REC.Consultation@dmirs.wa.gov.au.
To provide submission on the Bill, a feedback form is available here and all submissions should be emailed to REC.Consultation@dmirs.wa.gov.au by Friday 25 June 2021.
For all other queries, please contact REC.Consultation@dmirs.wa.gov.au
Streamline WA Mining Environmental Approvals Project Board Update December 2020
The Streamline WA Mining Environmental Approvals Project Board, a partnership between the Departments of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) is focussed on delivering initiatives to improve and clarify regulation of mining environmental approvals. By way of a quick update on what’s happening:
- Mining Environmental Approvals Webpage
A single location for information on mining environmental approvals was published on the wa.gov.au website through a ‘soft launch’ on 18 December 2020. This site acts as an entry point for users to find whole-of-government information on mining environmental approvals, inclusive of approval journeys. The webpage also includes a document hierarchy for mining environmental approvals, showing a clear categorisation of existing policy and guidance documents that inform government decision making on environmental approvals.
- Reduced reporting burden (annual environmental reporting)
DEMIRS is simplifying its online annual environmental reporting for Mining Act 1978 projects to streamline the information requested and improve system performance. For example, the annual environmental report will no longer request assessment of compliance against each individual tenement condition, instead requiring reporting by exception if there are instances where a condition has not been met. This will streamline reporting and improve performance of the online system. These changes are expected to come into effect in January 2021. - Streamlining Bill (legislative amendments)
DEMIRS is continuing to work on potential legislative amendments to introduce a framework for automated assessment and authorisation for certain low impact activities, and introduce a single approval instrument for mining activities. DEMIRS is intending to undertake consultation on an exposure draft in 2021. - Reducing Duplication
DEMIRS and DWER are reviewing interactions between applications and approvals under both the Mining Act 1978 and Environmental Protection Act 1986 to clarify regulatory roles between DEMIRS and DWER. Clearly defining each agency's scope and responsibilities will avoid duplication in assessments and regulation for the mining industry.
