Planning proposals in regulated catchments must protect water quality and waterbodies.
Applies to: Planning proposals affecting land in a regulated catchment (excluding the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment) under the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021When a planning proposal affects land in a regulated catchment (other than the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment), the proposal authority must ensure it protects and improves water quality, flows and the ecological health of natural waterbodies. It must be consistent with national fresh and marine water quality guidelines, assess direct, indirect and cumulative impacts, and consider feasible alternatives. The authority must also consult adjacent or downstream councils and, as far as practicable, give effect to their requests.
Direction 3.10 is a planning direction that a council or other planning proposal authority must follow whenever it prepares a planning proposal (a proposal to make or amend a local environmental plan) affecting land inside a regulated catchment as defined by the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021. The Sydney Drinking Water Catchment is expressly excluded from this direction. Its purpose is to protect water quality (including groundwater) and the flows, ecology, geomorphology and connectivity of natural waterbodies, and to safeguard watercourses, wetlands and riparian lands.
Planning proposal authorities \u2014 in practice usually the local council, but potentially any body preparing a planning proposal \u2014 when preparing a planning proposal affecting land in a regulated catchment (other than the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment).
It is triggered when a planning proposal authority prepares a planning proposal that will affect land within a regulated catchment, within the meaning of the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021, other than the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment. It applies at the plan-making (LEP) stage, not to development applications.
A proposal may be inconsistent only if the authority satisfies the Planning Secretary (or a nominated departmental officer) that the inconsistent provisions are: justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary that considers the objective and identifies the land; or justified by a supporting study that considers the objectives; or in accordance with a relevant regional or district strategic plan prepared under Division 3.1 of the EP&A Act 1979; or of minor significance.
Links to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 (which defines regulated catchment); the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (Water Quality Australia); regional and district strategic plans prepared under Division 3.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
The proposal must be consistent with the direction's objectives and with the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (published by Water Quality Australia), and any water quality management plan prepared under those guidelines.
Documentation by a suitably qualified person must indicate whether the proposal is likely to adversely affect terrestrial, aquatic or migratory animals or vegetation (and steps to minimise this), affect periodic flooding of wetlands/riverine ecosystems, or adversely affect recreational land uses in the catchment.
The proposal must identify and consider cumulative impacts on water quality (including groundwater) and flows of natural waterbodies and on the environment generally, including land adjacent to or downstream of the area.
It must identify how the proposal will protect and improve environmental values (biodiversity, native vegetation, cultural heritage, water resources), address scenic quality and community interests, and protect/rehabilitate land from urban salinity and land degradation.
The proposal must consider any feasible alternatives to the planning proposal.
Whether this bites in Kiama depends entirely on whether Kiama land falls within a "regulated catchment" as defined in the Biodiversity and Conservation SEPP 2021 (excluding the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment). If Kiama land is within such a regulated catchment, any planning proposal (e.g. a rezoning to enable housing on the coastal fringe) affecting that land would need expert water-quality and cumulative-impact documentation and, where downstream LGAs like Shoalhaven could be affected, consultation with them. If no Kiama land is a regulated catchment under that SEPP, the direction does not apply. Planners should confirm the catchment mapping before assuming it applies.
3.10 Water Catchment Protection Objective The objectives of this direction are to: (a) maintain and improve the water quality (including ground water) and flows of natural waterbodies, and reduce urban run-off and stormwater pollution (b) protect and improve the hydrological, ecological and geomorphological processes of natural waterbodies and their connectivity (c) protect and enhance the environmental quality of water catchments by managing them in an ecologically sustainable manner, for the benefit of all users (d) protect, maintain and rehabilitate watercourses, wetlands, riparian lands and their v egetation and ecological connectivity. Application This direction applies when a planning proposal authority prepares a planning proposal which will affect land within a regulated catchment, excluding the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment, within the meaning of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 . Direction 3.10 (1) When preparing a planning proposal, the planning proposal authority must be satisfied that the planning proposal achieves the following: (a) is consistent with the objectives of this direction, (b) is consistent with the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality, as published by Water Quality Australia, and any water quality management plan prepared in accordance with those guidelines, (c) includes documentation, prepared by a suitably qualified person(s), indicating whether the planning proposal: i. is likely to have an adverse direct, indirect or cumulative impact on terrestrial, aquatic or migratory animals or vegetation, and any steps taken to minimise such impacts ii. is likely to have an impact on periodic flooding that may affect wetlands and other riverine ecosystems iii. is likely to have an adverse impact on recreational land uses within the regulated catchment (d) identifies and considers the cumulative impact of the planning proposal on water quality (including groundwater) and flows of natural waterbodies and on the environment more generally, including on land adjacent to or downstream of the area to which this direction applies, (e) identifies how the planning proposal will: i. protect and improve environmental values, having regard to maintaining biodiversity, and protecting native vegetation, cultural heritage and water resources (including groundwater), ii. impact the scenic quality of the natural waterbodies and the social, economic and environmental interests of the community, iii. protect and rehabilitate land from current and future urban salinity, and prevent or restore land degradation, (f) considers any feasible alternatives to the planning proposal. (2) When preparing a planning proposal, the planning proposal authority must: (a) consult with the councils of adjacent or downstream local government areas where the planning proposal is likely to have an adverse environmental impact on land in that lo cal government area, and (b) as far as is practicable, give effect to any requests of the adjacent or downstream council. Consistency A planning proposal may be inconsistent with the terms of this direction only if the planning proposal authority can satisfy the Planning Secretary (or an officer of the Department nominated by the Secretary) that any provisions of the planning proposal that are inconsistent are: (a) justified by a strategy approved by the Planning Secretary which: i. gives consideration to the objective of this direction, and ii. identifies the land which is subject of the planning proposal (if the planning proposal relates to a particular site or sites), or (b) justified by a study prepared in support of the planning proposal which gives consideration to the objectives of this direction, or (c) in accordance with any relevant regional strategic plan or district strategic plan, prepared under Division 3.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 by the relevant strategic planning authority, or (d) of minor significance. Date commenced: 21 November 2022
This is an unofficial reproduction provided for convenience. It is not the official version of the legislation. For the official, in-force version, see legislation.nsw.gov.au.
Where the proposal is likely to have an adverse environmental impact on another LGA, the authority must consult the councils of adjacent or downstream LGAs and, as far as practicable, give effect to their requests.
Reproduced from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (planning.nsw.gov.au), © State of New South Wales, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Text extraction may introduce minor formatting artefacts — rely on the official source for anything decision-critical.