Environmental Law

Question 1

What are the 3 common drivers for environmental law?

Answer 1

• laws that limit the use of a resource
  to ensure future supply of the
  resource;
• laws designed to prevent harm to
  humans from waste and/or pollution
  (including GHG emissions);
• laws designed to protect remaining
  natural resources.

Question 2

What is most of Australia’s environmental law from?

Answer 2

International treaties and agreements.

Question 3

What level of Aus government is largely responsible for Environmental managment?

Answer 3

State gov.

Question 4

What are matters of National Environmental Significance?

Answer 4

1.World heritage
2.National heritage
3.Wetlands of international importance
4.Listed threatened species and ecological communities
5.Migratory species protected internationally
6.Commonwealth marine areas
7.The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
8.Nuclear actions (including uranium mines)
9.A water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining
development:

Question 5

What is the environmental protection act in Aus?

Answer 5

Has laws that make any offence causing serious environmental harm to the environment being prevented and controlled as much by the offender paying for this.

Question 6

What is the Carbon Farming Initiative?

Answer 6

A voluntary carbon offsets scheme which allows land use practice change to generate carbon credits for any project proponents.

Question 7

What is unconventional gas?

Answer 7

More difficult to extract as trapped by rock with low permeability (doesn’t flow freely after well drilled).

Question 8

How do you calculate the Sodium Absorption Ratio?

Answer 8

SAR = Na/Sqrt((Ca+Mg)/2)

Question 9

What burdens the rehabilitation of fracking sites?

Answer 9

• Can’t unfrack an aquifer
• Pits are not refiilled
• Very expensive
• Can have overlapping land uses to plan to
• Takes a long time