SMITHS BEACH — DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
762. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Smiths Beach development, open for public
comment to 8 September in the state development assessment unit process, and
note that the Environmental Protection Authority has received 237 submissions
in its stage 2 assessment process.
(1) Given the
concurrent processes of public consultation and assessment, has the EPA or the
Minister for Environment provided any feedback about the timing of the
assessment by the SDAU?
(2) When will the EPA assessment be completed?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question. The following answer is provided on behalf of the Minister for
Environment.
(1) As a matter of public record, the Environmental
Protection Authority received 2 371, not 237, submissions on the Smiths Beach referral during public
consultation undertaken in May 2022. The Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation is working with the state development assessment unit
to avoid overlap of public consultation on the two individual assessment
processes.
(2) The
proponent is in the process of preparing documentation required for further
public review and assessment. Once these processes are complete, the
Environmental Protection Authority will prepare its assessment report to the
Minister for Environment.