PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) has welcomed the state government’s introduction of an environmental offset register, saying it would provide a single publicly available access point for information on the application and delivery of environmental offsets committed to in the state.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the public database was designed to counterbalance the impact of development on environmental and biodiversity values.

He noted that it would provide a consolidated record of environmental offsets, such as Ministerial conditions imposed following assessment by the Environmental Protection Authority and conditions of clearing permits.

Jacob said the environmental offsets register was a significant measure in the state government’s approval reforms that had been strongly supported across government, industry and environmental groups.

"The design of the register has been strongly guided and influenced by stakeholder groups, including the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Conservation Council, the CME, the Urban Development Industry Association, the Property Council and the Housing Industry Association,” the Minister said.

“I am confident that the register will promote transparency and accountability in the administration of offsets.”

“This new register will provide a single publicly available access point for information on the application and delivery of environmental offsets committed to in the state,” said CME CEO Reg Howard-Smith.

He pointed out that, over the past decade, environmental offsets have increasingly been employed as a mechanism for achieving environmental benefits in the granting of approval for resource sector projects.

Howard-Smith added that rehabilitation was the key priority and environmental offsets should only be considered once all other avoidance and mitigation measures had been exhausted.

“The development and management of environmental initiatives can be many millions of dollars for individual companies and add to the overall cost of doing business in Western Australia.”

“It is essential that initiatives created through the offsets process are achieving cost-effective environmental benefits that are both clear and transparent,” said Howard-Smith.

The register includes information on the spatial location of the offset; the type of offset and values being offset; the compensatory values of the offset; milestones and timeframes for implementation.