The Environmental Protection Amendment Act 2020 is the most significant reform of Western Australia’s environmental legislation in more than 30 years. It introduces a raft of amendments to Western Australia’s primary environmental legislation – the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act).
Amendments to the EP Act provide for a person to apply for a matter to be considered a ‘bilateral matter’. In broad terms, this is a process for a person who is potentially covered by a bilateral agreement to opt in to being dealt with under that bilateral agreement.
To inform the development of the regulations, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation released the draft Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021 for public comment from 24 August to 14 September 2021.
The draft Environmental Protection (Bilateral Agreements) Regulations 2021 set out procedures for how and when a person may apply for a matter to be dealt as a ‘bilateral matter’ under a bilateral agreement.
This report provides the department’s response to the feedback received, which has helped inform the final Bilateral Agreements Regulations.
For more information go to Amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
