13Environmental assessment

#### 13 Environmental assessment Description of the activity (1) The environment plan must contain a comprehensive description of the activity including the following: (a) the location or locations of the activity; (b) general details of the construction and layout of any facility; (c) an outline of the operational details of the activity (for example, seismic surveys, exploration drilling or production) and proposed timetables; (d) any additional information relevant to consideration of environmental impacts and risks of the activity. > Note: An environment plan will not be capable of being accepted by the Regulator if an activity or part of the activity, other than arrangements for environmental monitoring or for responding to an emergency, will be undertaken in any part of a declared World Heritage property—see regulation 10A. Description of the environment (2) The environment plan must: (a) describe the existing environment that may be affected by the activity; and (b) include details of the particular relevant values and sensitivities (if any) of that environment. > Note: The definition of environment in regulation 4 includes its social, economic and cultural features. (3) Without limiting paragraph (2)(b), particular relevant values and sensitivities may include any of the following: (a) the world heritage values of a declared World Heritage property within the meaning of the EPBC Act; (b) the national heritage values of a National Heritage place within the meaning of that Act; (c) the ecological character of a declared Ramsar wetland within the meaning of that Act; (d) the presence of a listed threatened species or listed threatened ecological community within the meaning of that Act; (e) the presence of a listed migratory species within the meaning of that Act; (f) any values and sensitivities that exist in, or in relation to, part or all of: (i) a Commonwealth marine area within the meaning of that Act; or (ii) Commonwealth land within the meaning of that Act. Requirements (4) The environment plan must: (a) describe the requirements, including legislative requirements, that apply to the activity and are relevant to the environmental management of the activity; and (b) demonstrate how those requirements will be met. Evaluation of environmental impacts and risks (5) The environment plan must include: (a) details of the environmental impacts and risks for the activity; and (b) an evaluation of all the impacts and risks, appropriate to the nature and scale of each impact or risk; and (c) details of the control measures that will be used to reduce the impacts and risks of the activity to as low as reasonably practicable and an acceptable level. (6) To avoid doubt, the evaluation mentioned in paragraph (5)(b) must evaluate all the environmental impacts and risks arising directly or indirectly from: (a) all operations of the activity; and (b) potential emergency conditions, whether resulting from accident or any other reason. Environmental performance outcomes and standards (7) The environment plan must: (a) set environmental performance standards for the control measures identified under paragraph (5)(c); and (b) set out the environmental performance outcomes against which the performance of the titleholder in protecting the environment is to be measured; and (c) include measurement criteria that the titleholder will use to determine whether each environmental performance outcome and environmental performance standard is being met.