One of Premier Barry O’Farrell’s key promises to repeal Part 3A of the Environmental and Planning Assessment Act 1979, has formed part of the new incumbent’s 100-day plan to assist the Government in achieving its pre-election manifesto. This signals the end for the Part 3A approvals process which has been the central planning law for any project requiring a pipeline licence under the Pipelines Act 1967 to construct and operate a pipeline in NSW.

From Part 3A to local planning authorities

Part 3A was originally adopted in 2005 and was designed to refine the assessment process of projects in NSW that were deemed to be sufficient enough at a state or regional level to be named in Schedule1 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Development) 2005. This gave the Planning Minister consent authority for projects over a certain size, with local planning authorities playing the part of referral agency rather than approval authority. In terms of pipeline projects, this has been beneficial as it provided a structure and process with a central approval body that was conducive for projects that often transcended Local Government Association (LGA) planning boundaries.

It is anticipated that the new NSW Government will clarify how major infrastructure projects will be assessed and determined. Early indications are that existing pipeline projects will be referred to the NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) for determination – a move that is consistent with the previous Part 3A assessment process. Provisions that refer to the repeal of Part 3A contain a certain level of ambiguity that would be sufficient to allow assessment under the old regime. It is unclear as to whether the PAC would have any increased powers of determination under a revised process. What is clear is that any new infrastructure projects cannot be referred under Part 3A and any replacement legislation is likely to require an increased involvement of local planning authorities, local stakeholders and the wider community.

A whole of government approach

Another notable change, which transpired as part of the continued reforms by the new State Government revisions, was the absorption and ‘elevation’ of the Department of Environment Climate Change and Water (DECCW) into the Department of Premier and the Cabinet. The new Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has been introduced to seamlessly supersede the former DECCW. The concept behind the new department intends to amalgamate aspects of planning, local government, the environment and heritage under one umbrella to gain a ‘whole of government’ approach to upcoming projects. From a project manager’s perspective, the current re-shuffle brings with it new ecological survey guidelines which are required to be retrospectively applied to all existing proposals and undertaken for all future proposals.

Project offsets also appear to be of particular focus under the new regime with a renewed focus on ensuring that ecosystem credits are equivalent to values associated with correct bio-banking calculations. The objectives of the OEH stand side-by-side the objectives of the legislation, which is anticipated to replace Part 3A. An emphasis on handing responsibility back to the local level, indicates future concentration on local key stakeholder involvement with future proposals.

The coal and gas strategy

The new Government has also inherited a coal and gas strategy that has the potential to have an important bearing on the gas transmission pipeline industry in NSW. Even though there is a legal differentiation between mining developments and pipeline construction and operation, there is no doubt that pipelines will form an intrinsic part of future coal seam gas (CSG) utilisation and development in NSW.

The expansion of the pipeline industry in NSW is largely dependent on the successful expansion of CSG fields within the state. Development of CSG in NSW is fast becoming a divisive issue with ‘short term benefits’ of CSG extraction being weighed against ongoing security of supply from agricultural production in rural areas. The NSW Government has held sessions in Singleton, Gunnedah, Lithgow and Wollongong to further develop its coal and gas strategy, with major community concerns centering around protection of surface and groundwater, utilisation of black soil and productive agricultural land for coal and gas development, cumulative impacts of developments and impact of the industry on tourism and social infrastructure.

In terms of public and stakeholder interaction with gas pipelines in particular, there is a decreasing differentiation in the public eye between gas fields and transmission pipelines, as mining moves into more populated and productive areas. The issues that are pertinent to gas fields as part of the coal and gas strategy are likely to apply to any proposed associated pipelines, albeit to a lesser extent in some cases. Regardless of the level of application, it would still be prudent to heed the reservations of the wider community from these sessions.

The current political direction under the Coalition Government is to hand more responsibility back to local stakeholders and communities with an emphasis on description of proposed impact, proposed preservation and mitigation around key issues. These values are more than likely to form an integral element of assessment of potential pipelines under Part 3A’s successive legislation. These changes would see a transition away from stakeholder and community ‘involvement’ toward stakeholder and community ‘support’. This has the potential to provide a major re-think as to how projects are approached and handled at the community level and would undoubtedly increase the reliance on effective and thorough stakeholder and community consultation. Revisions to Part 3A are awaited with anticipation to ascertain the level of change required by pipeline proponents in how they approach future projects.