A Queensland company will pay more than $1.5 million as part of an enforceable undertaking following a contravention of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Anglo Coal (Grosvenor) Pty Ltd removed 149 hectares of native vegetation comprised of ecological communities, and habitat for various matters of national environmental significance, without approval under Part 9 of the EPBC Act.
As part of the undertaking, Anglo Coal will establish a 766 hectare offset to the value of $1.1 million, and either establish an additional 210 hectares of the ecological community to the value of no less than $450,000 or pay $500,000 to a program to be specified.
The company has cooperated with officers from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment throughout the investigation.
This outcome serves as a reminder that federal government approval should be sought before starting activities that could have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance, such as native vegetation.
The enforceable undertaking can be found here: https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/epbc/compliance-and-enforcement/compliance-outcomes
