EPA Victoria consults on new separation distance guideline and landfill buffer guideline

The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has released a new Separation Distance Guideline and a Landfill Buffer Guideline (Guidelines).

The Guidelines are open for public consultation until 5.00 pm on 17 February 2023. The Guidelines are expected to commence in mid-2023, after the EPA has considered public submissions. ^[1]

Key points – Separation Distance Guidelines

The draft Separation Distance Guidelines will:

• introduce new recommended separation distances to a range of industrial uses that emit odour or dust, including some 23 new activities not regulated by previous separation distance guidelines; ^[2]
• generally increase recommended separation distances for a wide range of industrial, extractive industry and mining activities; ^[3]
• apply new landfill buffer distances around current or former landfill sites;
• apply to planning assessments of new planning permit applications ^[4] and planning scheme amendments under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) (PE Act).
• apply to the EPA’s assessment of applications for some permissions under the Environment Protection Act 2017 (Vic) (EP Act).
• be used by the EPA when considering a person’s state of knowledge as part of the EPA’s enforcement of the General Environmental Duty and other duties in the EP Act.

Some of the key new and increased separation distances and in the draft Separation Distance Guidelines of particular interest to industrial, extractive industry, mining and waste management businesses in Victoria are in the table below.

Oil, gas and chemical storage and extraction

Waste management and recycling plants

Timber processing and sawmills

Extractive industries and mining

Landfills (NB: landfill operations are also subject to Landfill Buffer Guidelines)

Key points - Landfill Buffer Guidelines

The draft Landfill Buffer Guidelines will:

• need to be considered by the EPA when providing referral advice to responsible authorities when assessing planning permit applications for new or expanded landfill operations under the PE Act. ^[6]

• introduce a range of acceptable uses within landfill buffers, to provide greater certainty about what land uses are and are not appropriate in the vicinity of landfills when making planning decisions on landfill operations.

• allow some landfill buffer distances to be reduced subject to a satisfactory odour assessment being carried out.

Previous EPA Guidelines

Once finalised, the Guidelines will replace the following EPA guidelines, which are currently used to regulate separation distances and landfill buffers in Victoria:

• Recommended separation distances for industrial residual air emissions (EPA publication 1518);
• Assessing planning proposals within the buffer of a landfill (EPA publication 1642); and
• Siting, design, operation and rehabilitation of landfills (EPA publication 788.3) (in part).

How the Guidelines will affect you

We expect the Draft Guidelines to have significant impacts on odour and dust-generating businesses in various industries, particularly various manufacturing, mining and extractive industries, timber processing, waste management and landfill operations.

Odour and dust generating businesses should consider and understand the Guidelines and the separation distances that will shortly apply under them.  The Guidelines are likely to have a range of impacts on businesses in Victoria, for example:

• a failure to consider or comply with the Guidelines will be relevant when the EPA is considering prosecutions or enforcement action for breaches of the General Environmental Duty and other duties in the EP Act; ^[7]
• increased separation distances may impose additional constraints on business operations, including by subjecting new or expanded operations to more rigorous planning assessments by capturing a greater number of nearby sensitive land uses.

If you consider that the Guidelines may impact your business, we recommend submitting a response to the EPA on the Guidelines before 17 February 2023. 

KWM’s Environment and Planning Team can assist your business in preparing a submission, or provide further advice about how the Guidelines may affect your business.