EIS timeframes doubled this decade – can policy pragmatism prevail? Ngaire Tranter, Nitro Solutions
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n 2010 I completed my first Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We studied all the usual suspects, had town hall meetings, negotiated access and had many productive discussions with the regulators. Climate change had first appeared in our study requirements, and I recall considering how on earth we would factor that into the plan. In a total of 75 weeks, we had our EIS submitted and were moving on.
In 2019 we now spend a minimum of 156 weeks on the EIS and approvals process. In some well-known cases, approvals have spanned almost the entirety of this decade, bringing with it the frustration with the ongoing costs and increasing timeframes. During this decade, we have seen the introduction of nested governance structures which see projects assessed and approved by all levels of government, independent committees and experts. Assessments address the entire project lifecycle from construction through to rehabilitation and closure planning. We study every aspect in exhaustive detail, guided by Australian Standard risk assessment processes. There are multiple legislated stakeholder engagement processes and regulatory 98
BBMC Yearbook 2019
reviews which continue past the approvals process right through operations and into closure planning. At the start of the decade, compliance costs would be estimated at 1-2% of capital value of the asset, for the life of the mine. Today this figure ranges from 2–5 %. Yet despite this increasing focus upon compliance and ongoing technical work, the broader Australian community remains disapproving. As an industry, we are complicit in this outcome because we have remained quiet, with a ‘business as usual’ approach. After all, we assume people understand that their entire modern lives are established via mining - not only are our homes, workplaces and surrounds established through mined products, our economy relies upon mining.
On the cusp of this decade and the new decade, fresh with possibilities, we have a choice.
