The NSW EPA released its draft Greenhouse Gas Assessment Guide for Large Emitters (the Guide), which set out how large emitters, those > 25,000 tpa CO_2-e emissions must complete NSW Planning requirements including Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Plans (GHGMP) and EPA requirements - Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plans (CCMAP).  The Guide represents an expanded template for the requirements for smaller EPL holders for doing CCMAPs, so has quite broad implications.  ASBG supports the general thrust of the Guide, especially it's the consideration of Scope 3 emissions as being encouraged but not required.  ASBG identified three main issues with the Guide including:

1. Avoidance of duplication and overlap with the Commonwealth systems, such as National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting and the Safeguard Mechanism and development of documents to identify where such reporting replaces parts of GHGMPs and CCMAPs.
2. Excessive enforcement of NSW’s NSW Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Act 2023 targets, which may generate an uncompetitive environment for NSW EPL holding organisations from lower cost and higher CO2-e.  ASBG explores various options where the export of NSW local jobs and importation of higher carbon intensity products could be avoided.
3. Ensure the definitions used to account for carbon emissions are consistent and compatible with the Commonwealth’s and also the International Standards Organisation’s (ISO) series of ISO 14001 standards on greenhouse gases.

Attachments:

ASBG Submission on the Draft Climate Change Assessment Requirements

869 kB

The submission covers many areas on asbestos waste, but largely focuses on the un-scientific presence based threshold for asbestos waste.  The OCSE is considered a good chance whereby a set of reasonable asbestos concentration thresholds for various RROE uses can be applied. 

ASBG pointed out may of the perverse outcomes of the presence based approach including:

• Removing asbestos materials unnecessarily causing increased exposure and consuming limited landfill space.
• Virtually banning any type of alterative asbestos waste management option, other than landfilling, which in the Greater Sydney area will be largely exhausted by 2028 with no replacement identified.
• Increases the costs of asbestos waste management across all areas especially recycling, hence increases illegal disposal of asbestos wastes and increases recycling liabilities.
• Having a large difference between contaminated land limits and waste limits causes considerable issues.
• Preventing the use of asbestos waste and asbestos forms (e.g. serpentine) in future carbon sequestration processes, via carbonation reactions, undermining NSW’s use of technological choices in meeting NSW’s Net Zero Targets.

 ASBG recommends firstly to remove, or redefine, the use of a presence based limit in the definition of asbestos waste, replacing it with a scientifically supported practical limit as used for all other environmental contaminants.  Additionally, ASBG calls for a scientific based assessment on the setting of general and case specific acceptable threshold for asbestos wastes to reduce the volumes sent to landfill.  This would be seen as consistent with contaminated site criteria.  In addition, another limit for the deeper burial of asbestos soils, such as in infrastructural projects, for moderately low concentrations of asbestos, with overarching design, cap, land title and call before you dig requirements.  Both of the above can be enshrined in Resource Recover Orders and Exemptions or by other means. 

Attachments:

ASBG Submission on OCSE's Asbestos Management Review 2024

1637 kB

The Environmental Legislation Amendment (Hazardous Chemicals) Bill 2023 actions included amending largely the POEO Act to:

• Control the making and use of listed chemicals under the Commonwealth register under the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Act 2021 of the Commonwealth into the NSW Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management Standard (IChEMS) register,
• Permit the EPA enabled to publish chemical use notices covering IChEMS chemicals requiring users to provide with and offences relating to compliance.
• Transfer the powers and repeal the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act 1985, including the Chemical Control Orders to the POEO Act
• Other amendments

ASBG's submission welcomed the Bill in general with a few issues including;

• Avoidance of duplication - a general issue with many environmental issues
• Clear advice to likely affected businesses and organisations with a period of grace for implementation
• Variation between Commonwealth and NSW IChEMS registry and consultation in proportion to the impact before being gazetted as a chemical use notice.
• EPA assessment of management technologies used for industrial chemicals at a fee is voluntary. However, to gain other governmental approvals, such as planning consents etc, are likely to require such assessment.  The issue  is the definition of industrial chemicals is considered far too broad applying to most chemicals used in industry.  Consequently, industrial chemicals should be ring fenced to ‘industrial chemical listed in the NSW IChEMS register or under a chemical use notice'.

Attachments:

ASBG Submission on the Environmental Hazardous Chemicals Bill 2023

886 kB

Overall this submission is more about non-STP biological sludges than biosolids. The term biosolids is exclusively defined and reserved for sewage treatment plant, or STP biological sludges. 
Many industrial biological systems produce similar however, biosolids from non-Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) can have similar, worse or better environmental characteristics than biosolids from STPs.
ASBG calls for a more consistent method to regulating biological sludges and allow them similar outcomes to those applied to biosolids where applicable.
In particular, ASBG calls for a less stringent assessment process for these sludges than the current Specific Resource Recovery Order and Exemption application process. 
Where biological sludges have similar or better properties than biosolids then they should be permitted to use the Biosolids Resource Recovery Order and Exemption based on the Biosolids Guidelines.

Attachments:

ASBG Submission on the NSW Biosolids Regulatory Review

879 kB