Welcome to the website of the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia.
Office of the Environmental Protection Authority
On Friday 27 November 2009, the Government created a dedicated department to give the EPA greater independence and management of its own resources. Michelle Andrews has been appointed Acting General Manager and she has established a leadership team to work with staff and stakeholders to build the new department. An interim structure for the department is downloadable below.
Most of the staff have moved from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), and so any existing contacts for particular projects or issues are not likely to have changed. Direct phone numbers for staff remain the same, as does the street and postal address - The Atrium, 168 St Georges Tce Perth and Locked Bag 33, Cloisters Square Perth 6850.
There are new reception and fax numbers for the Office of the EPA - ph 6467 5600 and fax 6467 5556 - and all email addresses have changed from ...@dec.wa.gov.au to ...@epa.wa.gov.au.
During this time of change you may experience some short-term difficulties with communication or access to information simply due to the changeover to new systems. Please be assured however that we will remain focused on service delivery, project assessment timelines and process improvements already underway.
Environmental Stakeholder Advisory Group Advice – Role and Structure of the EPA
The Minister for Environment has received a report from the Environmental Stakeholder Advisory Group on the role and structure of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), as reflected in recommendation 10.4.3 of a report by the EPA in March 2009 titled “Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process in Western Australia”. The Environmental Stakeholder Advisory Group report is now publicly available.
The Environmental Stakeholder Advisory Group was established by the Minister in June 2009 to provide her with advice on specific environmental matters.
Shared Environmental Assessment Knowledge (SEAK)
Following the release of the Environmental Impact Assessment Review in March 2009, the Minister for Environment requested the EPA Chairman, Dr Paul Vogel, to convene a Taskforce to develop a conceptual model to share environmental assessment knowledge and build a business case for implementation. The Taskforce, comprised of stakeholders of the environmental impact assessment process, transmitted an interim report outlining the conceptual model to the Minister in September. The Taskforce is currently developing the business case for implementation, with a final report due early in 2010.
The Premier has announced a new lead agency framework to improve coordination and efficiency of approvals processes across Government. The new lead agency framework will work by determining specific government departments as the first point of call for a project. The relevant department will then help the proponent through the approvals process throughout agencies.
Review of the Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas)(Sulfur Dioxide) Policy
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, the EPA is required to review the EPP within seven years of gazettal. The EPA has prepared a discussion paper and invites public comment and suggestions to inform the EPA on the forthcoming review of the EPP. The discussion paper provides an overview of the performance of the EPP and reviews the sulfur dioxide monitoring results. TI also identifies some issues and poses some questions for consideration.
Review of the Environmental Protection (Kwinana) (Atmospheric Wastes) Policy 1999
In accordance with s36(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986, the Environmental Protection Authority has deferred the commencement of the review of the Environmental Protection (Kwinana) (Atmospheric Wastes) Policy 1999 as directed by the Minister for the Environment. This direction is in effect until 31 December 2009.
