Australia's Environmental Protection Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2020 (WA) have recently commenced, with the effect that all onshore oil and gas exploration and production proposals involving hydraulic fracture stimulation in Western Australia will now need to be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for assessment under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA).
Ban and Moratorium on Onshore Fracturing and Establishment of an Independent Inquiry
On 5 September 2017, the state government announced that it had implemented a ban on hydraulic fracturing for existing and future petroleum titles in the South-West, Peel, and Perth metropolitan regions of Western Australia and a moratorium on the use of the practice throughout the rest of the State.
At the same time, the state government announced an independent scientific panel inquiry into hydraulic fracturing in Western Australia. The purpose of the inquiry was to report on the potential effects arising from the implementation of fracturing on the onshore environment of Western Australia outside of the South-West, Peel, and Perth metropolitan regions.
Following this announcement, on 8 December 2017, the state government gazetted the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Hydraulic Fracturing) Regulations 2017 (WA), which legislated a permanent ban on hydraulic fracturing in the Perth metropolitan, Peel, and South-West regions and a moratorium in the rest of the state until 30 June 2020.
Findings of the Inquiry
On 12 September 2018, the inquiry panel handed its report to the state government and, on 27 November 2018, the inquiry panel's final report and appendices were published.
The Inquiry had more than 9,500 public submissions, with the panel making 91 findings regarding risks, public concern, and regulation of onshore fracturing and 44 recommendations as to how those risks and concerns might be reduced should the state government choose to lift the moratorium.
Overall, the inquiry found that the international standards for the design, construction, and operation of an individual petroleum well, incorporating hydraulic fracturing, if properly executed and located, posed a low level of risk to the environment and people. The inquiry, however, identified the opportunity to further reduce risk with a set of recommendations for additional regulation.
Recommendation 34 of the final report was that the EPA should assess all onshore unconventional oil and gas developments associated with hydraulic fracturing. This recommendation was consistent with an earlier inquiry made by the Western Australia Legislative Council's Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs.
The state government accepted in principle all 44 recommendations of the Inquiry and, in July 2019, released its implementation plan in response to those recommendations. Action 7 of that plan provided for all applications for onshore hydraulic fracturing exploration and production proposals to be referred to the EPA for assessment under the EP Act.