The NSW Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) is New South Wales’ leading environmental regulator. With a focus to ensure business activities do not impact upon the environment or human health, the NSW EPA is not limited to issuing environment protection licences in conjunction with adhering to strict operating conditions and pollution reduction programs. It also monitors compliance with licence conditions.

The NSW EPA has issued Lachlan Shire Council with two environment protection licences under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (click on the links below to view these licences on the NSW EPA website):

An environment protection licence authorises a business to carry out a scheduled activity, providing the business adheres to certain requirements, including limit and operating conditions, which are stipulated in each licence.

Section 153A of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 requires a licence holder to prepare a Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP) and review this annually. The PIRMP for Lachlan Shire’s licenced sites can be found below.

Condobolin Sewerage Treatment Plant Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP)
Condobolin Water Filtration Plant Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP)

An Annual Return must be prepared and submitted to the NSW EPA within 60 days after the end of the reporting period. This report comprises of a Statement of Compliance and a summary of required monitoring and complaints. The monitoring report provides an analysis and interpretation of monitoring results, and actions to correct identified adverse trends.

For each licence period, Council is required to pay an administrative fee, and, if applicable, a load-based fee.

The annual licence anniversary dates are as follows:

Council is required by legislation to publish pollution monitoring data, ensuring it publicly accessible. Pollution Monitoring Data summaries for each licence is published monthly on Council’s website under the EPA Pollution Monitoring tab.

If pollution monitoring is a requirement, the conditional licence sets out any load, concentration, volume or mass limits that apply to a particular monitoring point, and also determines the frequency at which sampling/monitoring is required.

The monitoring data is obtained as a result of a  licence condition that relates to air, water, noise and/or land pollution with regard to pollutants generated, discharged or emitted from a licensed premise.