The WA Government is claiming to have reduced the time taken to obtain environmental approvals while at the same time increasing approvals for major resource projects.

 

Speaking in State Parliament, Environment Minister Bill Marmion said the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) had reduced the average processing time to assess works approval applications for major resource projects from more than 60 working days in September 2008, when the Liberal-National Government took power, to 45 days last quarter.

 

“DEC continues to meet the target time frame of 60 working days to process works approval applications, with only one application not meeting the time frame in the past 24 months. DEC also granted a record 36 works approvals last quarter.

 

“Since January 2009, DEC has assessed and issued 145 works approvals for the State’s major mining and industrial projects, with 62 of these being issued in the past six months alone.

 

“Despite this increase in workload, DEC continues to maintain an average processing time for works approval applications below the target time frame, and is processing licence applications in an average of 34 working days.”

 

The Minister said in respect to native vegetation clearing permits, there was a target time frame of 90 calendar days to make a decision when the clearing provisions began in July 2004.

 

“The time taken to make a decision has improved significantly,” he said.

 

“DEC set a new target that 80 per cent of applications were to be decided within 60 calendar days of receipt, with a decision on the remaining 20 per cent within 90 calendar days.

 

“In the past 12 months, DEC has met those targets and in the past three months the targets have been exceeded with 86 per cent of applications decided within 60 days of receipt and the remaining 14 per cent within 90 days.”

 

DEC publishes quarterly reports for works approvals and licences, native vegetation clearing permits, classification of contaminated sites, environmental enforcement statistics, and land use planning advice on its website at: http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/quarterlyreporting