Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area – Environmental Scoping Document

The public are invited to comment on the draft Terms of Reference (ToR) required by the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and the draft Environmental Scoping Document (ESD) required by the Western Australia Environmental Protection Authority for the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area (KSIA) Strategic Assessment/Strategic Proposal, for a period of 28 days.

DevelopmentWA and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation are progressing the KSIA Strategic Proposal / Strategic Assessment to enable development of strategic industrial land to support industry expansion in Western Australia. The KSIA is located 17 km north of Bunbury in the southwest of Western Australia and incorporates land development for industrial purposes with associated supporting industries and infrastructure.

Commonwealth Government Strategic Assessment – Terms of Reference 

On 31 March 2022, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment entered into an agreement with the Minister for Lands and the Minister for State Development of Western Australia to undertake a strategic assessment of the impacts of actions taken in the KSIA (Strategic Assessment). This invitation to comment on the draft Terms of Reference (ToR) is being undertaken in accordance with section 146(1B)(b)(ii) of the EPBC Act and as per the Strategic Assessment Agreement, available via DevelopmentWA and Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy websites: https://developmentwa.com.au/Industrial-and-Commercial/kemerton-sia/overview and https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/strategic-assessments. The draft ToR document, prepared as a requirement under Part 10 of the EPBC Act, specifies what must be included in the Impact Assessment Report (IAR) and to meet requirements for matters of national environmental significance (MNES under the EPBC Act).

Western Australian Government Strategic Proposal – Environmental Scoping Document  

DevelopmentWA has prepared the Environmental Scoping Document (ESD) in accordance with Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) procedures and is released for public review, along with the draft ToR prepared by the then Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The ESD outlines the work required and key areas of focus for the environmental review, required by s. 40(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). The IAR will be developed as a streamlined report that meets the requirements of both the State EP Act and Commonwealth EPBC Act.  Following a review of public comments, the draft ToR and ESD will be revised where appropriate and finalised in accordance with the Strategic Assessment Agreement and the State’s environmental impact assessment process respectively.

Hard copies of the document may be purchased for $10 (including postage), or a CD version is available free of charge from:

DevelopmentWA 

40 The Esplanade 

Perth WA 6000 

(08) 9482 7499 

Copies of the document may also be downloaded from www.epa.wa.gov.au or developmentwa.com.au 

Copies of the document will be available for examination at: 

The closing date for public submissions is: 27th September 2022 

The EPA are managing the submission of public comments for both the draft ToR and the draft ESD. Public comments received will be shared with the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water. 

The EPA prefers submissions to be made electronically via the EPA’s Consultation Hub at https://consultation.epa.wa.gov.au. 

Alternatively, submissions can be:  

posted to: Chair, Environmental Protection Authority, Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC,WA 6919, or delivered to: the Environmental Protection Authority, Prime House, 8 Davidson Terrace, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027 

If you have any questions on how to make a submission, please contact EPA Services, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation on 6364 7000.

Persons with special needs (i.e., for whom English is a second language or who has vision impairment) may contact Tom Engelbrecht at DevelopmentWA on 08 9482 7803 or Tom.Engelbrecht@developmentwa.com.au for assistance in accessing the material