New extractive industry practice note for quarry permit applications

The Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) has recently released Planning Practice Note 89 (the Practice Note) to guide the assessment of extractive industry proposals within the Victorian planning system.

The new practice has been updated to reflect changes to the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 (the MRSDA) and the process for statutory endorsement of work plans, focussing on its relationship to the planning process.

The practice note covers the basics about work plans and planning permits and their respective roles in regulating the use and development of land for quarries.

Helpfully, the practice note also addresses some key issues that, in our experience, can emerge in planning permit processes, including:

• Clarifying that referrals of quarry applications to agencies only needs to occur once, through the statutory endorsement process and should not be repeated in the planning process.
• Highlighting the role of statutorily endorsed work plans in addressing a range of technical matters (eg. noise, dust, blasting etc…) that need not be re-assessed in the planning process or regulated through duplicate requirements imposed through permit conditions.
• The need to consider longer timeframes on permits for the commencment of quarry uses given the nature of their operations. 

The practice note also addresses strategic issues and need to protect quarry buffers and significant stone resources from the encroachment of incompatible uses.

A copy of the practice can be downloaded from the DELWP website.

Any questions?

We regulary act for quarry owners and operators in a range of matters, including planning permit applications and VCAT planning appeals, so please contact us on 9853 5000 if you have any questions.

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