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1 CVEN3701 Assignment 1
Environmental Law
ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
Assessment value: 30 marks (30% of total course mark).
This is an individual assignment.
Due date: Friday, 9 April 2021, before 4pm
Submission: One electronic copy via Turnitin on Moodle
(one document per student, uploaded once; the first submission is
final!)
Maximum length: about 2500 words (no penalties for exceedances)
Front cover: Use the front cover provided and sign at bottom.
Background Info
Your client is Rotorua Windfarms Pty Ltd. Rotorua is proposing to establish a wind farm on the
Central Coast, Hunter Valley Region of NSW and wants you to complete an environmental
assessment for the project. To take advantage of maximum wind flow the company is proposing a
site on a coastal cliff face adjacent to the ocean.
The local conservation group, Friends of Myall, responds by asserting that the proposed site is
also adjacent to the Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland (listed under the NSW Biodiversity
Conservation Act 2016); and the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo (listed under the Commonwealth
EPBCA) is known to haunt the area.
The Planning Minister holds a press conference praising the project as “helping the inevitable
transition towards more renewable sources of energy and jobs for Hunter Valley workers”. Buoyed
by this announcement, Rotorua sends in contractors to begin preliminary excavation work,
sending plumes of silt into an adjacent watercourse that leads to the Myall Woodland.
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ASSIGNMENT TASKS
Advise your client about:
1. The process for gaining development consent for this project in NSW, including
requirements for environmental assessment and the responsibilities of the consent
authority in assessing this project.
2. The legal rights of Friends of Myall to take part in the decision-making process,
including any challenges they may be able to launch to the final decision.
3. Whether your client has any legal liability for the pollution caused by their contractor.
Your answer should encompass both State and Federal law (where relevant); and cite relevant
legislation and case-law.
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