8JTransitional provisions

8J Transitional provisions

8J Transitional provisions

(1AA) The Secretary may accept, as an application for approval of a project under Part 3A of the Act, any development application made under Part 4 of the Act with respect to any development before it becomes a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies. The Secretary may, for that purpose, require any matter to be provided by the applicant that he or she could require to be included in the application under section 75E of the Act.

(1) The Secretary may adopt (with or without modification), as environmental assessment requirements for a project or concept plan, environmental assessment requirements issued by the Secretary under Part 4 or Part 5 of the Act with respect to any development or activity before it becomes a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies.

(2) The Secretary may accept (with or without modification), as an environmental assessment for a project or part of a project or concept plan—

(a) an environmental impact statement obtained in accordance with the requirements of the Secretary under Part 4 or Part 5 of the Act with respect to any development or activity before it becomes a project or part of a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies, or

(b) a statement of environmental effects (as referred to in clause 2(1)(c) of Schedule 1) prepared in connection with the development concerned before it becomes a project or part of a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies, or

(c) a written assessment arising out of the consideration, under section 111 of the Act, of the environmental impact of an activity and prepared before the activity becomes a project or part of a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies.

(2A) If the Secretary accepts (with or without modification) an environmental impact statement, a statement of environmental effects or a written assessment as an environmental assessment for a project or part of a project or a concept plan—

(a) the Secretary is taken to have prepared environmental assessment requirements in respect of the project or part of a project or concept plan, and

(b) the environmental assessment as so accepted is taken to comply with those requirements.

(3) The Secretary may accept, as a period of public availability of the environmental assessment for a project or part of a project or concept plan (under section 75H(3) of the Act), a period of public exhibition of an environmental impact statement or a statement of environmental effects referred to in subclause (2) before the relevant development or activity becomes a project or part of a project to which Part 3A of the Act applies. For that purpose, and to avoid doubt, if the period of public exhibition is less than 30 days, it is accepted only to the extent of the actual period of public exhibition.