❓ Hon Dr Brad Pettitt questions DWER's compliance with mining environmental conditions following a critical Auditor General's report. DWER provides inspection numbers and reports on non-compliance tracking.
AnsweredQoN 2171Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the 2022 Auditor General’s Performance Audit of Compliance with
Mining Environmental Conditions , which cautioned that the “environment is not
currently adequately protected, as our regulators do not have an effective
understanding of how well operators follow their conditions”, and I ask: (a) what is the annual target number of site inspections of sites with environmental
conditions by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) for 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively; (b) what is the
actual number of site inspections of sites with environmental conditions completed by
DWER in: (i) 2023-24; and (ii) 2024-25 to date; (c) what major compliance issues were identified by the inspections at (b); and (d) where
are the compliance issues at (c) reported if there are no prosecutions or any other Statutory
notices and directions for a particular compliance issue?
Mining Environmental Conditions , which cautioned that the “environment is not
currently adequately protected, as our regulators do not have an effective
understanding of how well operators follow their conditions”, and I ask: (a) what is the annual target number of site inspections of sites with environmental
conditions by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) for 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively; (b) what is the
actual number of site inspections of sites with environmental conditions completed by
DWER in: (i) 2023-24; and (ii) 2024-25 to date; (c) what major compliance issues were identified by the inspections at (b); and (d) where
are the compliance issues at (c) reported if there are no prosecutions or any other Statutory
notices and directions for a particular compliance issue?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 October 2024
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment
Response time
4 days
(a) (i) 2023/2024 – 40
(ii) 2024/2025 – 60
(b) (i) 2023/2024 - 44
(ii) 2024/2025 (as at 17/9/2024) – 48
(c) a wide range of non-compliance matters were identified, including failure to seek appropriate approvals prior to commencing or continuing various activities, exceedances of discharge limits, unauthorised discharges and not complying with conditions of approvals.
(d) non-compliances identified are recorded in the departments Incident and Complaint Management System. Environmental non-compliance numbers and non-compliance records that are closed in two calendar months are reported on in the department’s performance reports, which are published on department’s website:
dwer-regulatory-performance-report-2023-24-q1.pdf (www.wa.gov.au)
Non-compliances with conditions of Part IV Ministerial Statements are also reported separately to the Minister for Environment in accordance with section 48(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 .
(ii) 2024/2025 – 60
(b) (i) 2023/2024 - 44
(ii) 2024/2025 (as at 17/9/2024) – 48
(c) a wide range of non-compliance matters were identified, including failure to seek appropriate approvals prior to commencing or continuing various activities, exceedances of discharge limits, unauthorised discharges and not complying with conditions of approvals.
(d) non-compliances identified are recorded in the departments Incident and Complaint Management System. Environmental non-compliance numbers and non-compliance records that are closed in two calendar months are reported on in the department’s performance reports, which are published on department’s website:
dwer-regulatory-performance-report-2023-24-q1.pdf (www.wa.gov.au)
Non-compliances with conditions of Part IV Ministerial Statements are also reported separately to the Minister for Environment in accordance with section 48(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 .
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