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The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s primary environmental legislation and is designed to protect Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES). This legislation applies in addition to any state or local government environmental assessment processes and approval. Approval may be required by landholders under the EPBC Act to…
P&E Law welcomed the Senate Select Committee on Unconventional Gas Mining and made a submission setting out a number of our concerns including: Give landowners the right to refuse CSG mining on their land. Impose statutory obligations on CSG companies to disclose relevant information to landowners negotiating CCAs including: Noise modelling Dust modelling Development plans…
Recently the Commonwealth Government’s Clean Energy Regulator purchased over 45 million tonnes of carbon abatement measures at the second Emissions Reduction Fund auction held on 4 and 5 November 2015. The Fund was established through a variety of legal regulation under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (Cth). With the advent of the Commonwealth…
In early 2016, a draft update to the Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR) for the Surat Cumulative Management Area (SCMA) will be released by the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) for public consultation. We strongly recommend all landowners review the draft update UWIR to determine whether their bores will be affected by the continued…
In Endocoal Limited v Glencore Queensland Pty Ltd and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection [2014] QLC 54, the Land Court found that a coal mining company applying for a mining lease was required to enter into a make good agreement with a neighbouring coal mining operator. In this case, Endocoal Limited (Endocoal) applied for…
Over the past six months P&E Law has been engaged in a number of cases on behalf of landholders in dispute with resources companies primarily to have their land rehabilitated after the construction of coal seam gas infrastructure. Issues that consistently arise include weed invasion, subsidence, erosion, soil inversion and inappropriate seed mixes, all of which…
Recently P&E Law voiced its strong concern to the Queensland Government about plans to proceed with two of the previous government’s changes to landowner rights for mining and exploration. In 2014 the Newman LNP government passed laws including the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 (the MERCP Act) significantly eroding landowner’s rights including: (a) …
On 4 March 2015 the Landholders’ Right to Refuse (Gas and Coal) Bill 2015 was introduced into the Australian Senate, which seeks to provide landholders with the right to refuse gas and coal mining on their land and to ban hydraulic fracturing. p&e Law lodged a written submission on the Bill and has provided evidence…
In the recent case of Henry v Georgetown Gold Operations Pty Ltd [2015] QLC 13, a landowner (Henry) applied to the Land Court to review compensation being paid under a compensation agreement on the basis that there had been a material change in circumstances since entering into an agreement with miner ERO. The decision provides…
With the recent change of government, many landholders eagerly await news from the Queensland government about proposed changes to land access and objection rights for landholders affected by exploration and mining projects. The Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 curtailed the right to object to mining development. It also removed the 600m rule…
Landholders across the region have entered into a vast number of agreements with resource companies authorising some form of mining development on their land. Many have signed Conduct and Compensation Agreements (CCAs) with coal seam gas companies for the construction and operation of CSG development on their land. CCAs are significant in that the agreement…
DNRM have confirmed that the updated Surat Cumulative Management Area Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR) will be released in draft by the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment in December 2015. The UWIR 2012 is the basis for Make Good Agreements being negotiated throughout the Surat basin. A Make Good Agreement might provide for: further monitoring…
CSG companies negotiate with Landholders in two phases. The first phase involves introductions by Company representatives and leads to detailed site inspections and usually environmental, cultural heritage and land surveys of proposed CSG infrastructure locations on your land – well sites, gathering corridors, lay-down areas, gravel pits and more. Landholders are usually asked to agree…
The recent Land Court decision in Inglis v State of Queensland [2014] QLC 7 is a good precedent for landholders who are negotiating with electricity or other infrastructure providers and concerned about incurring professional costs. The Acquisition of Land Act 1967 (ALA) governs the taking of land and easements in Queensland and entitles landholders to…
As a Landowner you may have had some of your property mapped by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (Department) as “Strategic Cropping Land”. While this recognition and designation by the Department may appear reassuring, an “eligible person”, which includes a resource company, can submit a validation application that the land is not Strategic…
Moves by the State Government to scrap the “600 metre rule” will significantly erode Landholder rights. The 600 metre rule requires a Landholder to consent to any preliminary activities such as environmental and cultural heritage surveys for proposed CSG activity within 600 metres of a Landholder’s residence. The State Government is currently consulting on a…
On 4 March 2014, the Land Access Implementation Committee’s Report (the Report) for the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines was released by the Queensland Government. The Report makes recommendations for implementing land access reforms contained in the government’s Six Point Action Plan. The Six Point Action Plan is the government’s response to a review…
As the CSG industry in Queensland continues to grow, more and more landowners are entering into CCAs with gas companies that authorise CSG development on their land. For many landowners, negotiating a CCA is a time-consuming and stressful process. The campaign to be compensated fairly and to adequately protect your land, business and lifestyle both…