The remediation determination issued to Jam Land Pty Ltd (Jam Land) on 28 April 2020 was affirmed today by the Delegate to the Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley.
This decision follows an application by Jam Land on 18 May 2020 for a Ministerial Reconsideration of the remediation determination.
In November 2016, the former Department of the Environment and Energy received an allegation that herbicide had been applied to grasslands on a property at Corrowong, in southern New South Wales, in contravention of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Act).
The department's initial investigation found that a critically endangered ecological community, the Natural Temperate Grassland of the South Eastern Highlands, was significantly impacted by the application of herbicide.
Before taking an action that has, will, or is likely to significantly impact on a protected critically endangered ecological community a person must first seek approval under the Act.
Taking the action without first seeking approval is a contravention of a civil penalty provision under Part 3 of the Act and carries a maximum penalty of $11,100,000 for a body corporate.
In responding to the contravention of the Act, a delegate to the Minister made a remediation determination, requiring Jam Land as the landholder to mitigate the damage by managing and enhancing the natural ecological values of 103 hectares of native grasslands on the property.
A remediation determination is a penalty that addresses the environmental impact caused by a contravention under Part 3 of the Act by requiring a person to take action to repair or mitigate that damage.
The remediation determination made on the 28 April 2020 is available here: Compliance outcomes.
