Law of the Land: Understanding Tasmanias Environmental Laws EDO - - PDF document

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Law of the Land:

Understanding Tasmania’s Environmental Laws

• Community Legal Centre, focussing on planning

and environmental law issues

• Legal advice
• Litigation
• Legal education
• Law reform
• Non-profit, largely community funded
• Confidential service
• www.edotas.org.au

EDO Tasmania

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• 1. Know the law
• 2. Know how to comply
• 3. Know who to ask for help

Workshop goals

1 2 3 1. Planning & Vegetation clearing

• Clearing for pasture
• Bushfire management
• Threatened species and

vegetation

• Planning reforms
• Tools and resources
• Kingborough Interim

Planning Scheme

• By-Laws
• Neighbourhood Disputes

about Plants

Workshop Outline

2. Water and waterways

• Dam permits
• Works near Waterways

3. Weeds and pests

• Declared weeds
• Managing biosecurity risks
• Weeds in Kingborough
• Cat management

4. Other issues

• Environmental impacts
• Boundary fences
• Waste management

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• FOREST PRACTICES PLANS
• When do you need one?
• Clearing more than 100 tonnes / 1 hectare
• Clearing and conversion of threatened native vegetation communities
• Clearing on vulnerable land – streamside reserves, erosion prone land,

landslip areas, threatened species habitat

• When don’t you need one?
• Regrowth on previously cleared land
• Maintaining infrastructure
• Approved under other legislation – planning permit, dam works, mining
• Must comply with Forest Practices Code
• Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy
• EPBC Act exemption does not apply to agricultural clearing for

activities other than commercial forestry

Vegetation clearing

• Restrictions on clearing threatened native vegetation
• Exceptional circumstances
• Safety
• Reducing bushfire risk
• Biosecurity risks (e.g co-mingled gorse removal,

creating a buffer to avoid spread of disease)

• Protecting threatened species
• Complying with a court order or statutory obligation

(e.g. abatement notice from Council)

• Overall environmental benefit
• No significant impact on survival of community or

environmental values in the vicinity of the community

• Ecological assessment
• Offsets – what are they and how are they assessed?

Vegetation clearing

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Forest Practices Plans

• When do you need one?
• Clearing more than 100 tonne / 1 hectare
• Clearing and conversion of threatened native vegetation communities
• Clearing on vulnerable land – streamside reserves, erosion prone land,

landslip areas, threatened species habitat

• When don’t you need one?
• Regrowth on previously cleared land
• Maintaining infrastructure
• Approved under other legislation – planning permit, dam works, mining
• Must comply with Forest Practices Code
• Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy – 40ha limit
• EPBC Act exemption does not apply to agricultural clearing

Vegetation clearing

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• Approved bushfire hazard management plan

– contact Tasmania Fire Service and the Forest Practices Authority

• Clearing around approved dwellings or infrastructure
• Council will generally require TFS approval of bushfire plan
• Abatement notice from Council
• Burning-off restrictions
• Permit season
• Nuisance burning

Vegetation clearing

Planning & Development

• Planning reform
• Interim planning schemes
• Tasmanian Planning Scheme
• Development applications
• Exempt uses
• Zones and Codes

NO PERMIT REQD

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r



Go to www.thelist.tas.gov.au and click ‘LISTmap’.

• Type the relevant address into the search bar and press enter.
• Press the green plus sign to add the address to the map.

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CHECK THE QUALIFICATIONS!

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PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT: considerations for applicants

Nikki den Exter, Kingborough Council

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CLEARING TREES: Neighbourhood Disputes, By-laws and other considerations

Liz Quinn, Kingborough Council

• 1. A landholder has cleared land near a tree in which he

knows a wedge-tailed eagle nest is located, although the nest is not recorded on the Natural Values Atlas.

• Can he clear around the tree to create a water view?
• Can he remove the tree if it presents a bushfire risk?
• What permits might be required?
• 2. A landholder clears land (including threatened

vegetation) without a permit, then applies for a planning permit to construct a dwelling, saying that the land was “already cleared”.

• Can Council refuse her application?
• Can she be required to remediate the habitat cleared?

CASE STUDIES

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• Dam works that do NOT require a dam permit
• Off-stream dams with less than 1ML capacity
• Temporary levee banks for flood protection (up to 4 weeks)
• Urgent safety work and repairs
• Installing flow meters
• Dam works that DO require a permit
• Low risk dams - Division 4 permits
• Higher risk dams – Division 3 permits
• Planning permit requirements

Dam works

• Division 4 permits
• Do you meet the eligibility criteria?
• Check the title and any relevant registers
• Need a consultant to assess your property / proposal
• Consequence Category Assessment
• Notify DPIPWE of your proposal (inc fee)
• Deemed permit within 14 days
• Division 3 permits
• Application addressing Dam Works Criteria (inc fee)
• Referral to EPA (if needed)
• Public comment period
• Assessment by the Minister (DPIPWE)
• Appeal to the Tribunal (limited grounds of appeal)

Dam works

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• Permits you may require include:
• Planning permit – all works within 10-40m of a waterway or

100m of a wetland (unless exempt)

• Forest practices plan for removal of riparian scrub or

wetland vegetation

• EPBC Act approval if listed species impacted
• Crown lease / licence
• Approval from Inland Fisheries

Service if fishery impacted

• Dam works permit

Working in waterways

• 1. A landholder proposes to build a new off-stream

dam to hold less than 1ML of water. The dam will be used primarily for watering stock.

• What (if any) permits will he require?
• What records should he keep about the dam work?
• 2. A landowner has an existing on-stream dam, which

she has maintained for over 10 years. She wants to increase its capacity by re-profiling the dam wall. The work will require machinery to enter the watercourse.

• What (if any) permits will she require?
• What plans might she need to submit?

CASE STUDIES

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• Weeds of concern

– Declared weeds & “Weeds of National Significance” – Local weeds

• Management Strategies

– Kingborough Weed Management Strategy & Action Plan 2017 – 2027

• Weed management on public land / roadsides

– No Spray Register

• Biosecurity Bill

Weed management

• Landholder responsibilities

– taking all reasonable steps to prevent growth and spread of declared weeds – not propagating, selling, purchasing or otherwise distributing declared weeds or anything carrying declared weeds (e.g soil or fodder) – not importing any declared weed into Tasmania (confirm with your suppliers); – eradicating declared weeds on your property (where feasible) – complying with any notice served by a Weed Inspector

• Liability of contractors and service providers
• Nuisance offences
• Council programs

Weed management

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MANAGING WEEDS IN KINGBOROUGH

Rene Raichert, Kingborough Council

1. A landholder receives a notice from the Council Weed Inspector requiring management of ragwort on her property. She is concerned that ragwort on neighbouring properties (including Crown land) is not being managed.

• Can she refuse to undertake the work?
• How can she find out what management activities she

should undertake?

• How can she make her neighbours control their weeds?

2. A landholder has applied to build a large poultry shed near the boundary of his property. Historical records show high priority weeds have been recorded within 200m of his property.

• Is he required to manage for weeds?
• What conditions could Council impose?

CASE STUDIES

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• Browsing animal control
• Methods include fencing, shooting and trapping, and 1080

poison

• Permits are required to “take” (shoot, poison or trap) partly

protected fauna

• DPIPWE has useful planning tools to help landholders

control losses

• Cat management
• The owner of private land, or people working on their

behalf, may trap, seize or humanely destroy a cat found:

• on rural land used for primary production relating to livestock,
• r
• on any land further than 1km from any residence

Pest management

• Managing your impacts
• Noise, dust, odour and smoke
• Vermin control
• Best solution is to talk to your neighbours
• Enforcement options
• Abatement notice
• Environment Protection Notices
• Exemptions for nuisance
• “Right to farm” protections & permits

Environmental nuisance

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• Boundary Fences Act 1908 – neighbours to

contribute to fence between their properties.

• “Sufficient fence”
• on rural property, ordinarily capable of

resisting the trespass of cattle and sheep

• if in a town or adjacent to a dwelling, “of the

description and quality agreed or awarded".

• Sharing a boundary with Council / Crown land
• Responsibility for repairs
• Resolving disputes

Boundary fences

• Burning waste
• Smoke emissions
• Fire risks
• Disposal of tyres
• Waste disposal sites
• Authorised waste sites
• Planning requirements
• Disposing of oil and chemicals
• Recycling farm waste

Waste management

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• Environmental Law Handbook: www.edotas.org.au
• Works in Waterways: Understanding the Law
• TFGA Guide to Environmental Legislation
• Threatened Species Link:

www.threatenedspecieslink.tas.gov.au

• WIST: http://portal.wrt.tas.gov.au/
• DPIPWE website: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au
• Forest Practices Authority guides: www.sttas.com.au
• EPA Assessment guides: www.epa.tas.gov.au

Useful resources

Ask!

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www.edotas.org.au 03 6223 2770

jess.feehely@edotas.org.au claire.bookless@edotas.org.au

Any questions?