The Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee is calling for public submissions on the Crown Minerals (Decommissioning and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.

The bill would amend the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to minimise the risk to the Crown and other third parties of having to carry out and fund decommissioning of petroleum fields. Decommissioning is the process of taking petroleum infrastructure and wells out of service, which may include removing the infrastructure, plugging and abandoning wells, and undertaking necessary site restoration. The proposed changes would apply to all current and future petroleum permit and licence holders.

The bill also seeks to make broader amendments to the Crown Minerals Act, including:

· changing the decision-making process for permit applications so that decision-makers must be satisfied an applicant is “highly likely” to comply with certain conditions, rather than “likely”, before granting a permit

· providing enforcement officers with the power to impose enforceable undertakings and issue compliance notices and infringement notices

· changes to improve the administration of the Act.

Tell the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by midnight on 19 August 2021.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· Get more details about the bill

· What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

· Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates
 

© Scoop Media