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4700 results in Environmental law

Page 136 of 235

  • 9 - Environmental regulation

  • Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Mining and Energy Law
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    17 August 2015, pp 354-404

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The environmental regulation of mineral exploration and mining activity is a relatively new area that has evolved dramatically since the early 1990s. The increasing trend to develop and enhance environmental policy and regulation for mining and energy projects has been achieved via the imposition of strict environmental evaluation, planning, mitigation, and rehabilitation requirements upon mining proponents. Mining and energy operations across the world are now routinely subjected to environmental impact assessments and environmental management conditions; however, there is considerable debate regarding the scope and implementation of this regulation. In some countries, environmental impact assessment constitutes a precondition to the issuance of an exploratory resource title; whereas in others, whilst it may be a prerequisite to the commencement of mining operations, environmental assessment does not constitute a precondition to the issuance of a resource title in the first instance. There is also considerable range regarding the rigour and focus of environmental assessment. Some countries mandate a full and comprehensive environmental impact assessment of mining projects – particularly large-scale projects – whilst others are satisfied with less onerous evaluation and this has the capacity to cause longer-term environmental degradation. Many countries have also sought to incorporate, as an additional component of an environmental impact assessment, social and community concerns regarding the impact of a mining project upon local regions. Most countries now accept the importance of imposing ongoing rehabilitation obligations upon mining and energy proponents through different stages of the project but there are different perspectives regarding the best way to incentivise land rehabilitation during the exploration and production phase of a project and once it is completed. Options vary from the imposition of environmental ‘bonds’ to the endorsement of progressive self-financing mechanisms; whereby mining proponents guarantee the costs of site rehabilitation by setting aside prescribed amounts from revenues received from operations.

  • 2 - Resource titles

  • Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Mining and Energy Law
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    17 August 2015, pp 51-93

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This chapter examines the regulatory framework underpinning the issuance of resource titles in Australia. No operational activities may be conducted in Australia for mining and resource projects in the absence of a resource title. Ownership of land does not in itself give any rights to the owner to explore for or extract resources from the land. This is because, as we know from the discussion in Chapter 1, ownership of the resource resides with the state. A resource title constitutes the authorisation from the state, as owner of the resource, for a mining proponent to conduct exploratory, extraction, or production activities within the authorised area. Hence the state, as owner of the resource, gives permission to the mining proponent to explore for, extract, and produce the resource. This authorisation occurs through the interface of a resource title. The exact status of the title will depend upon the statutory terms and conditions that inform it. The focus of this chapter is upon the differences between different forms of resource (mining) titles, in terms of character, scope, and entitlement. The nature and character of a resource title reflects the particular stage that the resource project has reached. Hence, exploration titles will vary markedly in terms of duration, scope, and range to full-scale commercial production titles. The issuance of resource titles in every state and territory is based upon a structured regulatory framework. The process involves relevant applications, the submission of work plans, rehabilitation plans, environmental reviews, and any other permission or statutory obligation relevant to the particular project given its size, location, and focus. The environmental review relevant to the approval of resource titles is considered in more detail in Chapter 9. The primary focus of this chapter is a legal explication of the different forms of resource titles and their scope and characteristics.

  • 7 - Carbon capture sequestration

  • Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Mining and Energy Law
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    17 August 2015, pp 279-314

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In a carbon-constrained world, the progression of technologies focused upon reducing emissions has become a strong priority. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been internationally recognised as an essential part of cost-effectively reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, especially for heavily fossil fuel reliant countries, such as Australia. A number of CCS demonstration projects have been completed, are underway or planned, and several major commercial CCS projects are proposed for Australia.

    CCS refers broadly to the process of transforming carbon emissions into a liquid form in order to inject them into subsurface reservoirs and thereby avoid CO2 emissions. The technology facilitating CCS has progressed enormously over the last few years and the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute has indicated that Australia, as the ninth largest energy producer, has demonstrated its support for CCS through a number of strategic initiatives. These initiatives may be summarised as follows:

  • the implementation of the CCS Flagships Program, designed to accelerate the development and demonstration of CCS technologies

  • the release of greenhouse gas acreage for commercial exploration of potential CCS storage sites

  • small to large-scale demonstration projects

  • the implementation of the National Low Emissions Coal Fund

  • the implementation of the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund

  • state-based initiatives that include the creation of the Queensland Clean Coal Council, NSW Clean Coal Council, and Victoria’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy.

  • 10 - Mining agreements and revenue frameworks

  • Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Mining and Energy Law
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    17 August 2015, pp 405-443

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Mining and energy projects have different socio-economic impacts upon economies compared with other sectors, such as agricultural, manufacturing, or service. There are many different reasons for this but primarily, because large mining projects operate with unusually large economies of scale, they have the capacity to generate significant investment and employment. In developing countries, mining projects can have such a significant localised impact that they overwhelm adjacent local economies and affect the social and economic foundations of those communities. The environmental impacts increase in both geographical scale and economic intensity as a project progresses through the exploration and extraction phases. Air pollution, water pollution, tailings, and waste are all natural consequences of a large-scale mining project and the localised effect of these environmental impacts can be quite profound in poorer countries.

    Furthermore, mining and energy projects have the capacity to generate suboptimal political and economic outcomes, particularly within developing countries where, in a weak institutional environment, the dependence on natural resource wealth exacerbates governance problems.

    The domestic economic impact of mining depends heavily upon the way in which mining revenue is generated by the government through taxes, royalties, and profit sharing. The distribution of mining revenue has a crucial impact upon economic development. With large-scale petroleum mining projects, revenue can constitute one-fifth of the GDP. Mining revenue can, however, be notoriously difficult to manage. This is particularly true for natural gas in Australia where the revenue is volatile and high, relative to the domestic GDP.

  • Foreword

  • Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Mining and Energy Law
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    17 August 2015, pp v-vi

  • Summary

    Minerals and energy law ranges across many issues and has always been complex. Australia’s Constitution makes it especially complex, with laws in the six states and two territories being different from each other and sometimes in conflict with Commonwealth law. It has become even more complex over recent years with new technologies and concern for climate change generating new policy, law and regulation - and with conflicts over policy leading to major changes over short periods.

    Hepburn manages to provide an intelligible, comprehensive account of Australian minerals and energy policy and law without losing the reader in the detail. The greatest strength of the book is to make a bewildering reality comprehensible to the reader who comes new to the subject.

    This book takes the reader through the major issues, explains how these issues have led to the adoption of laws, reviews comprehensively the more difficult issues to ensure that the reader has not been left behind, presents detail from important laws, discusses cases to demonstrate how the law has worked in practice, and suggests many avenues for further reading for those who want to dig deeper into the subject.

    It is an excellent book for the law student wanting to understand the broad context of her or his subject. It is just as useful for students seeking to understand minerals and energy from other disciplines and wanting to see how their subject is affected by law.

NAFTA and Sustainable Development
  • History, Experience, and Prospects for Reform
  • Edited by Hoi L. Kong, L. Kinvin Wroth
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    07 August 2015
  • The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its companion agreement, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), provide important and often underappreciated protection for the environmental laws of the Party states: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. On the twentieth anniversary of NAFTA's ratification, this book assesses the current state of environmental protection under those agreements. Bringing together scholars, practitioners, and regulators from all three Party states, it outlines the scope and process of NAFTA and NAAEC, their impact on specific environmental issues, and paths to reform. It includes analyses of the impact of the agreements on such matters as bioengineered crops in Mexico, assessment of marine environmental effects, potential lessons for China, climate change, and indigenous rights. Together, the chapters of this book represent an important contribution to the global conversation concerning international trade agreements and sustainable development.

Page 136 of 235