Bowen Basin Coal Pty Ltd v Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation

Bowen Basin Coal Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought approval for its Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan (PRCP) from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (the respondent). The applicant disagreed with certain conditions imposed by the respondent and requested the application be referred to the Land Court. Following court-supervised mediation, the parties reached an agreement to amend the PRCP schedule. The Land Court was asked to recommend to the administering authority that the amended PRCP schedule be approved. The central issue was whether the Land Court should recommend to the administering authority that the agreed amended PRCP schedule be approved. The court considered the statutory obligations under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, including the standard criteria, the status of any application under the Mineral Resources Act, and the draft PRCP schedule. The court noted that the matter had been resolved by mediation, and there was nothing remaining in dispute. The court referred to the affidavit of Ms Linney, particularly paragraphs 18 to 26, which declared the details of the application, responses to information requests, the agreed draft PRCP schedule, and the Department's assessment of the standard criteria. The court concluded that, given the agreement reached and the confirmation from the Department that the agreed amendments did not vary their assessment of the standard criteria, it was appropriate to recommend the approval of the amended PRCP schedule. The Land Court recommended that the proposed PRCP schedule, as contained within the affidavit of Ms Linney, be approved, and directed the Registrar to provide a copy of the recommendation and the affidavit to the administering authority as soon as practicable.