The EPA has a comprehensive and robust framework for regulating power stations in NSW. This framework includes a contemporary and innovative range of compliance and enforcement tools complemented by strong penalties and the ability to seek court orders to redress environmental impacts and recover any monetary benefits from non-compliance.
The EPA has been working with all power station operators in NSW to strengthen monitoring and reporting requirements and tighten air emission limits.
The EPA is working to improve transparency for the community and provide greater consistency of environmental regulation across the sector, with all coal fired power stations now continuously monitoring stack emissions.
Power station environment protection licences
Environment protection licences issued by the EPA require power stations to meet legally enforceable conditions relating to noise, air, water, land contamination, waste and other operational matters.
The conditions are designed to protect the community and the environment. Power stations are also required to operate and maintain pollution control equipment in a proper and efficient manner and minimise the emission of air pollutants in accordance with strict conditions included on all power station licences.
The EPA has recently progressed a number of strategic initiatives across the operational coal fired power stations to address air emissions and increase transparency around the generation and re-use of coal ash.
Power station licences are published on the EPA’s public register. The EPA is committed to providing the community with information and requires licenced industry operators to make pollution monitoring results available to the EPA and community.
The EPA continues to work closely with NSW Health and other government agencies in considering the available evidence to inform regulatory priorities.
Licence reviews
The EPA publicly consulted on the statutory review of environment protection licences for Bayswater, Eraring, Mount Piper and Vales Point coal fired power stations.
Consultation on the review of coal fired power station environment protection licences occurred over five weeks, from 23 October 2023 to 27 November 2023. There were multiple opportunities for stakeholders to engage with the EPA, such as online meetings, a dedicated mailbox for enquiries as well as the opportunity to complete a survey or provide written feedback. The EPA hosted six briefings with key stakeholders to provide an overview of the review of environment protection licences. These gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the review, ask questions and raise issues and concerns. The EPA set up a dedicated Have Your Say webpage where they could provide a written submission or complete an online survey. This opportunity was advertised widely via targeted emails and media articles.
The EPA received 103 submissions in total, including 48 written submissions and 55 online surveys from individuals, community and environment groups and peak bodies.
Feedback and opportunities raised during consultation
We heard specific feedback and opportunities to consider on the four licences and on our broader regulation of power stations. The EPA has considered all of the feedback we received. The consultation has also helped us gain a deeper understanding of the community’s priorities for our ongoing regulation of the power stations.
Across all the engagement approaches, most respondents provided feedback on matters they wanted the EPA to address or consider as we review the licences for Bayswater, Eraring, Mount Piper and Vales Point coal fired power stations.
Key sentiment was that
- air concentration limits in the licences need strengthening to better protect the health and amenity of the surrounding community. Overarching sentiment included support to tighten air concentration limits for particles, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and mercury in power station licences.
- strong, mandatory and enforceable greenhouse gas emission limits in power station licences and actions to be taken sooner.
- climate change mitigation and adaptation plans be added to the licences. This included plans to be made publicly available and actions to be further strengthened through monitoring, enforcement and review of climate change mitigation and adaptation plan requirements.
- more access to pollution monitoring data, presented in a meaningful way to satisfy the community’s right to know and improved transparency of monitoring and reporting information for the community. A key sentiment from individuals, community and environment groups was that they wanted access to more data and information, to improve understanding of an operator’s environmental performance. Access to more types of data and information, such as continuous emission monitoring data and reports prepared under licence conditions was also raised.
- water concentration limits in the licences need strengthening. Overarching sentiment included support to tighten concentration limits for metals, nutrients, chlorine and other pollutants in line with water quality guidelines. Stopping or reducing warm water discharges to better protect the aquatic ecosystem and human water uses and values in Lake Macquarie was also raised.
- coal ash must be carefully dealt with to prevent risk to the environment and human health.
- more opportunities for public participation in environment protection, including the establishment of a community consultative committee for each power station.
Consideration of community feedback and next steps
We are engaging with power station operators to examine feedback and opportunities raised as part of this review. The licence reviews are now finalised. Next, the EPA will make changes to the licences for Bayswater, Eraring, Mount Piper and Vales Point coal fired power stations. Changes will start in early 2024. Changes to environment protection licences will be reflected on the EPA’s public register.
Changes to the licences for coal fired power stations we will be working through include
- reviewing air emissions limits for certain metals
- reviewing the frequency of air and water monitoring
- reviewing and improving monitoring and public access to information
- increasing stakeholder engagement by power stations
- making administrative changes to the licences to increase readability and achieve consistency across the sector where appropriate.