33Savings and transitional arrangements for coal mining—Upper Hunter Strategic Assessment Agreement

33 Savings and transitional arrangements for coal mining—Upper Hunter Strategic Assessment Agreement

33 Savings and transitional arrangements for coal mining—Upper Hunter Strategic Assessment Agreement

(1) In this clause—

coal mining means new coal mining operations or expansions of existing coal mining operations in the area to which the Upper Hunter Biodiversity Plan applies.

development includes an activity to which Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 applies.

Upper Hunter Biodiversity Plan means the biodiversity plan relating to coal mining in the Upper Hunter Valley to which the Upper Hunter Strategic Assessment Agreement relates and that—

(a) is a policy, plan or program under section 146 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 of the Commonwealth which identifies biodiversity values in the strategic assessment area, priorities for conservation and mechanisms to achieve desired conservation outcomes, and

(b) is endorsed under that Act by the Commonwealth Minister responsible for administering that Act before or within 30 months after the commencement of the new Act.

Upper Hunter Strategic Assessment Agreement means the agreement made on 20 September 2012 between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of New South Wales in relation to the strategic assessment of a biodiversity plan for coal mining in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

(2) The Ministers administering the new Act and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 may, by a joint notice published in the Gazette, approve of biodiversity assessment of a specified development, or class of development, relating to coal mining being undertaken in accordance with the Upper Hunter Biodiversity Plan.

(3) Biodiversity assessment of proposed development is undertaken in accordance with the Upper Hunter Biodiversity Plan if—

(a) that Plan has assessed the impact on biodiversity values of development of the class concerned, and

(b) the terms and conditions of the planning approval for the proposed development, or for carrying out the proposed development, reflect the measures to avoid or mitigate those impacts, or to offset any residual impacts, that are required by that Plan.