Biomass Solution (Coffs Harbour) Pty Ltd v Environment Protection Authority

[2017] NSWLEC 1380

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Biomass Solution (Coffs Harbour) Pty Ltd v Environment Protection Authority [2017] NSWLEC 1380
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 27 June 2017
Date of orders:	19 July 2017
Decision date:	19 July 2017
Jurisdiction:	Class 1
Before:	Gray C
Decision:	See (4) below
Catchwords:	APPEAL: prevention notice - conciliation conference - agreement between the parties - orders to vary the prevention notice
Legislation Cited:	Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Biomass Solution (Coffs Harbour) Pty Ltd (Applicant) Environment Protection Authority (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: Ms N Hammond (Applicant) Mr S Nash (Respondent)
File Number(s):	2017/79984
Publication restriction:	No

Judgment

1. COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.

2. The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.

3. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties. Nor have I made any conclusions about the reasonableness or otherwise of the prevention notice.

4. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

1. Without any admissions by the Applicant, the Prevention Notice dated 14 March 2017 issued by the Respondent to the Applicant (Notice Number 1545835) in respect of the premises at Lot 3 DP 1090175, 31 Englands Road, Coffs Harbour, is varied under section 110 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 in accordance with the notice attached and marked “A”.’

……………………….

Commissioner Gray

79984.17 Gray - Annexure A (634 KB, pdf)