Gas Infrastructure (Planning Permit Exemption) Regulations 2003 (TAS)

Gas Infrastructure (Planning Permit Exemption) Regulations 2003

I, the Lieutenant-Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Gas Act 2000 .14 July 2003

W. J. E. COX

Lieutenant-Governor

By His Excellency’s Command,

P. A. LENNON

Minister for Economic Development, Energy and Resources

1Short titleThese regulations may be cited as the Gas Infrastructure (Planning Permit Exemption) Regulations 2003 . 2CommencementThese regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette. 3Prescribed work and criteriaFor the purposes of section 86(2)(b) of the Gas Act 2002  – (a) each item in column 1 of a table in Schedule 1 is a prescribed kind of work and the criteria specified opposite that item in column 2 of the table are the prescribed criteria for that kind of work; and (b) if 2 or more of the items prescribed in column 1 of a table in Schedule 1 describe or apply to any new gas infrastructure development work, the criteria specified opposite each of those items in column 2 of the table are, collectively, the prescribed criteria for that work. Schedule 1Prescribed work and criteria

Regulation 3

PART 1Interpretation 1.   Interpretation (1)In this Schedule – carriageway, of a road, means the part that is actually used by traffic; desktop assessment, of any matter, means assessing the matter by means other than an on-site survey; gas connection infrastructure means the pipes and equipment that connect a distribution system to a gas supply point; gas distribution infrastructure means any part of a distribution system other than the gas connection infrastructure; planning scheme means a planning scheme within the meaning of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 ; road means a road under the control of the Crown, a council or Forestry Tasmania and includes – (a) any associated bridge, culvert, footpath, verge or other development; and (b) the land between the abutting property boundaries on either side of the road or, if no properties abut the road, a 5 metre width each side of the carriageway; sensitive area means any of the following: (a) an area containing sites or relics of Aboriginal cultural heritage or significance; (b) an area of cliff overhangs or caves; (c) forested margins of – (i) button grass; or (ii) heath; or (iii) native grassland plains; (d) a karst area; (e) land within 500 metres of a creek, lake, marshland, river or swamp; (f) land within 500 metres of the high-water mark of a coastline; (g) a major continuous ridgeline; (h) a natural river crossing in a hill area; (i) an outcrop of chalcedony, chert, fine-grained quartzite, fossilised wood, hornfel, mudstone, quartz or spogolite; threatened species has the same meaning as in the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 ; vegetation means a community of native vegetation, predominantly greater than one metre in height, that is not inside a commercial forestry plantation, private timber reserve or State forest; waterway includes – (a) any defined channel having a perennial or intermittent flow of water; and (b) vegetation associated with a waterway; wetland includes – (a) any permanent or seasonal swamp or waterlogged area; and (b) vegetation associated with a wetland. (2)A footnote contained in a table in this Schedule is for information purposes only, not part of the regulations. PART 2Gas connection infrastructure work

Column 1 Work	Column 2 Criteria
1.	Gas connection infrastructure work	The meter for the gas connection will not extend over any title boundary, and –
(a) if any of the work will be in respect of a building 15 metres or less from a road, the meter for the gas connection will be placed –
(i) on a wall of the building that does not face the road; or
(ii) if that is impracticable, so that the meter is not visible from the road or is capable of being screened from the road; and
(b) if any of the work will be on masonry walls of sites identified in a planning scheme as an historic site, place or area –
(i) the meter for the gas connection will be concealed (so as not to be visible on any external wall); and
(ii) the fittings for the gas connection infrastructure will be fixed using non-corrosive fixings inserted into mortar joints

PART 3Gas distribution infrastructure work: roads

Column 1 Work	Column 2 Criteria
1.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on a road (other than its carriageway) in an area identified in a planning scheme as involving or affecting historic or heritage issues 1	The work will be undertaken in accordance with a conservation plan prepared by a suitably qualified person in accordance with the principles outlined in the "Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter" adopted in 1999 by the body known as the Australia International Council on Monuments and Sites, and –
(a) any gas pipeline associated with the gas distribution infrastructure will not be visible from the road; and
(b) the work will not destroy any significant features related to the historic or heritage significance of the area; and
(c) the work will not destroy or permanently remove any building, tree, rock or stone
2.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on a road (other than its carriageway) in a sensitive area 1	A survey will be undertaken to ensure that no sites or relics of Aboriginal cultural heritage or significance in the area will be disturbed by the work. The survey will –
(a) be undertaken in consultation with the responsible Department in relation to the Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 ; and
(b) involve a desktop assessment and, if required, an on-site survey
3.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on a road (other than its carriageway) in an area identified as containing threatened species 1	The work will only modify or affect land that has already been modified or affected by the construction of the road (including its carriageway) and will not impact on the threatened species
4.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on a road (other than its carriageway), being work of that kind that –	A soil and water management plan for the work will be prepared by a suitably qualified person with experience in site management. The plan will contain provisions relating to –
(a) will or is likely to involve or affect soil or water management issues; and	(a) erosion control practices; and
(b) involves the disturbance of 250m2 or more of land that is serviced by a kerb and gutter stormwater system 2	(b) sediment control practices; and
(c) site remediation and revegetation programs
[Note 1: Gas distribution work on the carriageway of a road inside an area specified in item 1, 2 or 3 does not require a planning permit anyway (but may be subject to other controls)]
[Note 2: If less than 250m2 of such land will be disturbed, the work does not require a planning permit anyway (but may be subject to other controls)]

PART 4Gas distribution infrastructure work: land other than roads

Column 1 Work	Column 2 Criteria
1.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on land (other than a road) in an area identified in a planning scheme as involving or affecting an historic site, place or area	The work will not affect any part of the historic site, place or area
2.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on land (other than a road) in a sensitive area	A survey will be undertaken to ensure that no sites or relics of Aboriginal cultural heritage or significance in the area will be disturbed by the work. The survey will –
(a) be undertaken in consultation with the responsible Department in relation to the Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 ; and
(b) involve a desktop assessment and, if required, an on-site survey
3.	Gas distribution infrastructure work on land (other than a road) in an area identified as containing threatened species	A desktop assessment will be undertaken in consultation with the responsible Department in relation to the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 to determine –
(a) whether the threatened species inhabit or otherwise depend upon the area around the proposed worksite; and
(b) if so, the impact that the work will have on the threatened species and mitigatory strategies to manage that impact
4.	Gas distribution infrastructure work involving or affecting prime agricultural land (which is agricultural land that is classified or capable of being classified as Class 1, 2 or 3 land using the class definitions and methodology from the "Land Capability Handbook", K.E. Noble, Department of Primary Industry, Tasmania, 1992)	Any ground-level structure associated with the work will not be sited on a part of the land that is in actual agricultural use
5.	Gas distribution infrastructure work involving or affecting soil and water management issues on land (other than a road) –	A soil and water management plan for the work will be prepared by a suitably qualified person to ensure that the transport of pollutants that may impact on water quality and aquatic ecology is minimised. The plan will address –
(a) lying less than 40 metres from a waterway or wetland; or	(a) erosion control practices; and
(b) having a gradient of, or more than, one in four 1	(b) sediment control practices; and
(c) details of worksite remediation and revegetation programs
6.	Gas distribution infrastructure work involving the clearing of 500m2 or more of vegetation 2	All Zone A Landscape Priority Areas in the vicinity of the worksite will be identified by a suitably qualified person following the visual management system methods outlined in –
(a) "The Forest Landscape - Visual Management System", Forestry Commission Tasmania, 1983; and
(b) "A Manual for Forest Landscapes", Forestry Commission Tasmania, 1990 –
and the work will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of those visual management system methods
7.	Gas distribution infrastructure work involving the clearing of less than 100m2 of vegetation on sloping land	The slope is less than 20% (1:5)
[Note 1: If the land lies 40 metres or more from a waterway or wetland, or has a gradient of less than one in four, gas distribution infrastructure work of this kind does not require a planning permit anyway (but may be subject to other controls)]
[Note 2: Gas distribution infrastructure work involving the clearing of less than 500m2 of vegetation does not require a planning permit anyway (but may be subject to other controls)]

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 15 July 2003

These regulations are administered in the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulation) These regulations prescribe the gas infrastructure development work that, providing it meets certain criteria, does not require a planning permit under the