From the Chair and CEO
Welcome to the Autumn 2019 edition of the EPA Connect newsletter. In this issue we report on the EPA Board’s recent visit to Broken Hill, we introduce the 20-year Waste Strategy and take a closer look at many initiatives and achievements in environment protection over recent months.
Following the NSW State Election in March, the Honourable Matt Kean MP has been appointed as Minister for Energy and Environment. Minister Kean has already voiced to EPA staff his commitment to the environment, something he described as “critical to the future of our State and Planet".
Board Members (from left to right) Michael Rennie, Julia Savet-Ward, Chris Knoblanche, Acting Chair and CEO Mark Gifford, and Elizabeth Wild inspect Broken Hill’s historic Junction Mine
Board Members see results of successful Park remediation work in Broken Hill.
Following the EPA Board’s commitment to hold a meeting in a regional centre each year, the Board visited Broken Hill in April, meeting with key stakeholders and gaining first hand insights into the challenges facing local communities.
We were briefed on the important steps the Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program has taken to manage and address lead exposure, particularly for children 1 to 5 years of age that are especially susceptible. The Board was impressed by the current program and keen to see that this important work continues.
We visited the Perilya North Mine that demonstrates local challenges from historical operations and the stringent management and regulation of mines now practised in NSW.
Site visits also included the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial, University Dam, Duff Street Park and Patton Park – to see the positive first stages of remediation work – and Channing’s Bottle Yard to witness the high number of containers collected through Return and Earn.
Last year, the NSW Government announced the development of a 20-year Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy - a long-term ‘roadmap’ for waste management in NSW. The strategy will set a 20-year vision for reducing waste, driving sustainable recycling markets and identifying and improving the state and regional waste infrastructure network. The EPA is involving stakeholders from government, industry and the community in its design.
Read more about this and other initiatives in this newsletter, including about schools engaged in environmental action, the EPA’s thorough response to serious infringements, and a new community noticeboard.
We look forward to working with you in the year ahead.
Mark Gifford PSM, Acting Chair and CEO, NSW EPA