Environmental Authority Licence

From 1 April 2013, it is a requirement of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 that anyone who conducts an environmentally relevant activity must hold an environmental authority for that activity and be registered as a suitable operator with the Department of Environment and Science. If you currently hold an environmental authority or registration certificate you are automatically added to the suitable operator register and are not required to make an application. The environmental authority will licence you to operate and is administered by a range of Queensland Government and local government agencies. The agency that administers an environmental authority is called the administering authority.

Council administers the following prescribed environmentally relevant activities:

Asphalt Manufacturing (1000t or more of asphalt per year);

Plastic Product Manufacturing (50t or more of plastic product per year; or 5t or more of foam, composite plastics or rigid fibre-reinforced plastics per year);

Metal Forming (10000t or more of hot forming metal per year);

Surface Coating (anodising, electroplating, enameling or galvanising using 1t to 100t of surface coating materials in a year);

Boat Maintenance or Repair (within 50 metres of a naturally occurring bed of surface waters)

If you are intending to make application for one of these environmentally relevant activities in conjunction with another environmentally relevant activity at the same place that is not on this list, then the relevant Queensland Government department (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries or Department of Environment and Science) will be the administering authority and will assess the environmentally relevant activity component of the application.

In addition, if the activity is carried out as a mobile and temporary activity across more than one local government area, the Department of Environment and Science will be the administering authority. A development approval is not required for mobile and temporary activities.

Requirement to Complete a Work Diary

If you operate a mobile and temporary environmentally relevant activity, other than regulated waste transport, you are required to maintain a work diary. You must:

• Use the approved form for a work diary,
• Keep the work diary records for 2 years after the last entry,
• Inform the administering authority within 7 days of the work diary being lost or stolen,
• Record the information required in the work diary for each location within 1 day of leaving the location.

Annual Returns and Fees

As the holder of an environmental authority, you will be required to pay an ongoing annual fee for your environmental authority and be required to submit an annual return.

Your first annual fee is due 20 business days after your environmental authority takes effect.

Following your first annual fee, prior to the due date for both the annual fee and the annual return, Council will issue you with a notice outlining these requirements. This notice will be sent at least 20 business days before the anniversary day for the environmental authority (i.e. the day your environmental authority took effect), and this notice will include details on where to pay your fees.

If you do not pay the annual fee by the due date, you will incur a fee for late payment.

Taking over an Environmentally Relevant Activity

It is recommended that you conduct a business search to determine if there are any outstanding requisitions or outstanding fees owed by the business. There are three types of searches as follows:

Activity Facility Records Search - Current status of licence/registration records only (does not include an inspection report).
Single Activity/Facility Search and Inspection - Current status of licence/registration records and current inspection report where applicable. Applications must be accompanied by the relevant fee and consent of the licence/registration holder.

Multiple Activity/ Facility Search and Inspection - Current status of licence/registration records and current inspection report where applicable for multiple activities at the one premise (eg. ERA and DGSM at the one premise). Applications must be accompanied by the relevant fee and consent of the licence/registration holder.

Transferring an Environmentally Relevant Authority

You may wish to transfer your environmental authority in some situations. For example, if you sell a business that includes an environmental authority, you will need to transfer the environmental authority to the new business owner. A transfer will also be required when an environmental authority has joint holders and:

• An existing joint holder wants to cease being a holder; or
• A new joint holder is added.

For you to transfer environmental authorities to another person, you will need to make a transfer application.

To make a transfer application you must submit the completed Request to Transfer Environmental Authority Holder(s) to Council with the correct fee. Please contact the Environment and Public Health Unit of Council for a copy of the relevant form.

The most important part of the transfer application is to demonstrate that the proposed new holder of the environmental authority is registered as a suitable operator. This is because an environmental authority transfer application can only be refused if the proposed holder is not a registered suitable operator.

Where all or part of the operation is being transferred, the new holder may wish to apply in advance for registration as a suitable operator by submitting the suitable operator application to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. This application can also be included with the transfer application.

Development permits for environmentally relevant activities are not transferable as the conditions apply to the land itself. If you purchase the land parcel you will also acquire the development permit.

Inform land owners of transfer

In some instances, the holder of the environmental authority may not own the land where their operation occurs. In these instances, if the transfer application is approved, the new holder of the environmental authority is required to inform the owners of the land on which the activity takes place that they are the new holder.

This is a requirement that is generally covered by the commercial arrangements between parties for the lease of the land. Because the environmental authority may involve a notifiable activity (activities with the potential to cause land contamination), it is essential that the land owners are aware of who is carrying out an activity on their land.

Changing an Environmental Authority

As the holder of an environmental authority, you may wish to amend your environmental authority from time to time. Amending an environmental authority may involve changes to conditions or adding new activities to an operation. In some situations, Council may also wish to amend your environmental authority.

To amend an environmental authority you must submit an Application to Amend an Environmental Authority with the relevant fee to Council. Council may refuse to process your application if you have any fees outstanding. Please contact the Public Environment Section of Council for a copy of the relevant form.

If the amendment requires a development application under the Planning Act 2016, then you must make that application first. A change to your development application will be required if you need to amend a condition of your current development approval.

To complete the amendment application form you will need to supply certain details regarding your proposed amendment (e.g. technical assessments of the impacts of the change on environmental values). For more information on how to determine the impact on environmental values refer to the relevant technical guidelines.

Development permits for environmentally relevant activities are not transferable as the conditions apply to the land itself. If you purchase the land parcel you will also acquire the development permit.

Combining an Environmental Authority

If you hold a number of environmental authorities, you may apply to combine your separate environmental authorities into one amalgamated environmental authority provided they:

• Are all held by the same legal entity; and
• All have the same administering authority.

It is not possible to apply for an amalgamated environmental authority when one of the environmental authorities has not taken effect. That is, you cannot apply for an amalgamated environmental authority at the same time you are applying for an environmental authority for activities that will be part of the amalgamated environmental authority. First you have to obtain the environmental authority and then you can apply separately to amalgamate the environmental authorities.

Surrendering an Environmental Authority

If you hold an environmental authority you may, at any time, apply to surrender your environmental authority voluntarily.

If you no longer require an environmental authority for your environmentally relevant activity, you should make a surrender application. If you do not surrender your environmental authority you will continue to be charged your annual fee.

To make a surrender application, you should submit an Application to Surrender an Environmental Authority to Council for your environmental authority. If you never commenced operation, a statutory declaration stating that the activity was not carried out must be included in your application. Please contact the Environment and Public Health Unit of Council for a copy of the relevant form.

If the activity was carried out, you must provide a compliance statement for your environmental authority in your surrender application. A compliance statement must state the extent to which the activities have complied with the conditions of your environmental authority.

There are also further requirements if your environment al authority contains conditions that require rehabilitation be carried out. In this case, you must also provide a final rehabilitation report with your surrender application.

If you are required to submit a final rehabilitation report as part of your surrender application, you must also include a statement in your compliance statement regarding the accuracy of the final rehabilitation report.

Before approving a surrender application, Council will want to make sure that:

• The site has been adequately managed in accordance with the environmental authority conditions
• Any land on which you have been carrying out activities has been satisfactorily rehabilitated or suitably managed.

Final rehabilitation reports

Surrender applications for environmental authorities that contain rehabilitation conditions must include a final rehabilitation report.

This report must include enough information to allow Council to decide whether you have complied with the conditions of your environmental authority and satisfactorily rehabilitated the land on which you carried out each relevant activity for the environmental authority.

You can complete this report by submitting a rehabilitation report.

Read more about rehabilitation reports for resource activities other than mining.

Suspending an Environmental Authority by Holder

As the holder of an environmental authority you may apply to suspend your environmental authority voluntarily (e.g. if you intend to suspend an activity for 1-3 years). However, Council may refuse to process your application if you have any fees outstanding.

If your activity operates intermittently, you may be able to suspend your environmental authority (and fee payments) while the activity is not operating. For example, a larger farming operation may want to suspend feedlot activities for a number of years due to unfavourable market conditions.

You cannot suspend your environmental authority if it contains a rehabilitation condition.

To suspend your environmental authority you must submit an Application to Suspend an Environmental Authority to Council. Your application will need to specify the proposed suspension period, which must be between 1 and 3 years.

Council will consider a number of issues when deciding you application including:

• The degree the degree of risk of environmental harm that has already been caused by the relevant activity, or that might reasonably be expected to be caused during the suspension of the relevant activity,
• The likelihood of action being required to rehabilitate or restore and protect the environment because of environmental harm being caused during the suspension of the relevant activity,
• Your environmental record.

As the holder of an environmental authority that has been suspended by the holder you may give notice to Council to terminate the suspension of the environmental authority. You may give notice before the suspension takes effect or during the suspension period. The notice must be accompanied by the pro-rata annual fee until the next anniversary date.

Cancel/Suspend Environmental Authority by Council

Council may cancel or suspend an environmental authority if certain events occur. These events are specified in section 278 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

For example, an environmental authority can be cancelled or suspended if the holder of an environmental authority is convicted of an environmental offence, or for non-payment of fees.

Process to cancel or suspend an environmental authority

If Council proposes to cancel or suspend your environmental authority, Council will give you a notice outlining the proposed action and the grounds or reasons for the proposed action.

You can write to Council stating why you think the proposed action should not be taken. Council must consider your written representations when making a final decision.

After considering your representations, Council may decide to suspend or cancel your environmental authority if it still believes grounds exist to take that action. Council may decide to suspend your environmental authority instead of cancelling it.

Alternatively, if after considering the representations Council believes those grounds do not exist, or that suspension or cancellation is not appropriate in the circumstances, Council may decide not to suspend or cancel your environmental authority.

An environmental authority cannot be issued until you are a registered suitable operator. To check if you are already a registered suitable operator, or to obtain your registration number, refer to the online register of suitable operators.

If you are not a registered suitable operator, you may apply before you apply for your environmental authority by sending an application to be registered as a suitable operator to the Department of Environment and Science via palm@des.qld.gov.au or the postal details supplied in the form. Alternatively, you can apply at the same time as making your environmental authority application by completing the suitable operator section of the application form. Council will forward the form to the Department of Environment and Science.

All the environmentally relevant activities listed are known as concurrence environmentally relevant activities and trigger a material change of use for the environmentally relevant activity under the Planning Act 2016. To make an application that includes a concurrence environmentally relevant activity you must apply to the assessment manager using the Development Assessment Rules process. You must use the DA Form relevant for your development to apply for a development permit.

The development application will be used as an application for a development permit and an environmental authority. If you are not a registered suitable operator and have not applied to the Department of Environment and Science to be a suitable operator, you must complete the suitable operator section of the application form and Council will forward the form to the Department of Environment and Science.

Environmental Authority Application Form(PDF, 145KB)

Notifiable Activities

Under Schedule 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994, certain activities are defined as notifiable activities. If the owner or occupier of land becomes aware a notifiable activity is being carried out on the land, the owner or occupier must give notice to the Department of Environment and Science.

For more information click on related links and documents or contact Council's Customer Service Centre on 4913 5000 or 1300 790 919.

Technical Information

You must provide technical information for your environmental authority as it is a site specific application. Some amendment applications will also require technical supporting information.

Technical guidelines

The following technical guidelines explain how to provide the necessary information:

• application requirements for activities with impacts to air
• application requirements for activities with impacts to land
• application requirements for activities with noise impacts
• application requirements for activities with impacts to water
• application requirements for activities with waste impacts

You should use the guidelines that are relevant to your proposed environmentally relevant activity. For example, if your environmentally relevant activity will discharge contaminants to water, use the application requirements for activities with impacts to water to determine the information you must provide with your application, and how it will be assessed.

When does my Environmental Authority take Effect?

The date your environmental authority takes effect (effect date) depends on the type of activity. Common effect dates for prescribed environmentally relevant activities is when the development permit takes effect.

You can nominate an effect date for prescribed environmentally relevant activities if you don't want to begin your activity immediately. To do this you must complete the relevant section of the application form or give your Council written notice of the effect date you want.

Complying with an Environmental Authority

As the holder of an environmental authority in Queensland, you will need to meet certain requirements to comply with your environmental authority. These requirements are in addition to the environmental obligations that everyone must comply with, and include:

• paying annual fees and submitting annual returns;
• complying with the conditions on your environmental authority;
• preparing a plan of operations (for calculating financial assurance).

Council has a range of compliance powers and tools that they can use in the event that a person or activity is not meeting their environmental obligations.