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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
Environmental Planning is a growing element of the development process and it will only continue to grow in importance, as community expectations of sustainable development increase and statutory controls become more stringent.
Planning and development is regulated by State, Regional and Local plans and policies. Our qualified consultants are highly experienced in this process and can provide specialist advice in preparing the necessary documentation and environmental studies for development applications. We undertake consultation with regulatory authorities and the community on behalf of our clients.
We principally assess the environmental impacts of industrial developments with over 20 years of experience in this area. Our services extend beyond the design and development phases to management of the proposed processes. Services we offer include:
Development Applications
The Development Application (DA) process is the formal process by which the appropriate approval authority can assess the proposed development and its potential impacts.
Some of the activities that may require a DA include:
- development of an undeveloped site;
- modification of an existing site;
- construction work;
- changes to the site’s hours of operation;
- increasing the site’s production volume; or
- changes to the type of work/processes performed.
Depending on the proposed development and the requirements of the regulatory authority, an assessment of any potential environmental impacts such as noise, air and odour emissions, transport impact, flora and fauna impacts, aesthetic or visual impacts, soil and groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas emissions must be presented with the development application. In addition appropriate controls and risk mitigation strategies need to be generated to address things such as waste management, chemical storage, fire safety and any potential environmental impacts identified in the assessment. Benbow Environmental are experienced in Environmental Planning across a range of industries and local government areas in identifying potential impacts and preparing solutions for a range or environmental concerns.
Our consultants work closely with our clients to carefully understand their project and requirements and provide environmental solutions to meet the community, the authorities, and the client’s requirements.
For a list of planning projects BE have undertaken see our projects page.
Environmental Impact Statement
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a type of report prepared as part of a developemnt application. An EIS is prepared on behalf of the proponent (applicant) and is a formal assessment of the effect or likely effect of a development or other activity on the environment. An EIS is required for designated development as part of the development assessment process. Designated development is specified in Schedule 3 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation (EP&A Reg) 2000, and includes activities such as cement works, chemical industries and works, extractive industries, livestock processing industries, and mineral processing or metallurgical works that propose production quantities above certain thresholds.
Statement of Environmental Effects
A Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) is a type of report required as part of the development application process for non-designated developments. It is prepared on behalf of the applicant and is submitted with the DA. An SEE considers all the potential environmental impacts of the development and specify steps to protect the environment or mitigate any potential harm.
State Agency Permits and Approval
Development that is deemed to be Integrated Development requires development consent plus a specified permit or approval from a state agency. An example would be a Licence from the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC). The activities that require a Licence in NSW are specified in Schedule 1 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act (PEOA) 1997. Examples of the activities include paint production, cement works, chemical industries or works, petroleum works, and waste facilities.
Fire Safety Studies
Fire Safety studies are prepared by Benbow Environmental in response to a client’s request or due to regulatory requirements. Our experience includes
- Assessing fire protection equipment for industrial plants;
- Design of industrial plants to prevent fire fighting water from polluting stormwater systems;
- Preparation of Emergency procedures for fires at a plant that uses or stores chemicals;
- Computer modelling of risk to a community if a fire occurs at a plant using or storing chemicals;
- Preparing detailed Fire Manifests to Hazmat’s exacting requirements;
- Fire management studies for local government approval of industrial development;
- Evaluation of toxic contaminants released from chemicals and fires;
- Training and procedures in fire safety; and
- Due diligence programmes.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Environmental management involves implementing physical and/or procedural measures to effectively control aspects of a process or activity to minimise its impacts on environment. BE provide a number of tools to managing an organisations activities. These include:
Environmental Management Plans and Systems
Benbow Environmental can prepare and facilitate implementation of Environmental Management Plans (EMP) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to AS/NZS ISO 14001 standards.
The steps to prepare an EMP or EMS would be to:
- Collect information about the site (processes, activities etc) either by conducting an environmental audit or from documentation provided by the site operators (eg operational procedures);
- Review the applicable legislative and planning requirements;
- Prepare an environmental aspects and impact register. A detailed assessment would involve consideration of each process step and the inputs and outputs to identify, examine, evaluate and document the significant environmental aspects, both known and suspected. The significant aspects identified will then enable evaluation of the potential environmental impacts;
- Identify the appropriate checking and corrective actions (risk management);
- Prepare the site specific environmental procedures to manage the significant environmental aspects, such as, water and stormwater, noise, waste, and air quality; and
- Develop a monitoring plan with supporting procedures and plan for educating staff.
Benbow Environmental has implemented such plans and systems at many organisations from small to national in size.
Environmental and Emergency Procedures
A set of environmental procedures to manage issues at the site such as water and stormwater, waste, noise, and air quality can be prepared at the client’s request or as part of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). In addition, procedures for dealing with a pollution incident, spill or failure of pollution control equipment may be prepared specific to the organisation. These procedures for emergencies use our unique colour coding method that streamlines the emergency response system. This system is in use at chemical plants, major television studios and is being adopted by several manufacturing plants. Preparations of fire manifests have also been provided to numerous sites. Benbow Environmental can also deliver onsite training to help implement the procedures in the workplace.
Environmental Licensing Requirements
Benbow Environmental can assist with the preparation of applications for new Environmental Licences, or Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) Annual Return and National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) calculations. We can also arrange for any auditing or monitoring required as part of the licence.
Environmental Monitoring
Benbow Environmental can also undertake Environmental Monitoring of the site to meet licence or consent conditions, or as part of the site's EMP.
Some of the monitoring that can be undertaken includes:
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