EPBC Referral submissions - BHP Billiton Olympic Dam mine expansion (2005)
Dan Monceaux made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the Environment and Energy
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Department of the Environment FoI Officers,
I wish to receive a digital copy of all written submissions received by the department in response to the EPBC Referral for "BHP BILLITON OLYMPIC DAM CORPORATION PTY LTD/Mining/Olympic Dam/South Australia/Expansion of the Olympic Dam copper, uranium, gold and silver mine, processing plant and associated infrastructure" - Ref#2005/2270.
I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Yours faithfully,
Dan Monceaux
Hi Dan
The Department of the Environment and Energy acknowledges receipt of your
request of 9 January 2017.
We are currently scoping your request and will contact you if we need to
discuss your request.
The Department is required to process your request within 30 days after
the day your request was received. This 30 day processing period may be
extended under certain circumstances, for example, where the Department
decides it reasonable to consult with third parties. If the processing
period is extended, you will be informed of the extension and the reasons
for it. As at the date of writing, the statutory deadline for providing a
decision on this request is 8 February 2017.
The Department makes two assumptions that affect the scope of your
request. These are set out below.
It is the usual practice of the Department:
• not to disclose the personal information of junior
officers or the personal contact details of senior officers of the State
or Federal governments (including those of the Department). The names of
senior officers will generally be released. Your request will be processed
on the assumption that you do not intend to capture these details within
its scope.
• not to release duplicates of any document captured
within the scope of the request. Further, where two documents fall within
the scope one differs from the other only with respect to minor editorial
changes (such as spelling or grammar corrections), only the later version
of the document will be treated as within scope. Your request will be
processed on the assumption that you do not intend to capture duplicates
or documents that the Department considers duplicates (as per the above
explanation) within the scope of your request.
Please inform us if you do not agree to your request being processed by
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We will contact you using the email you provided. Please advise if you
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If you have any questions, please contact the FOI team on (02) 6274 2098.
Regards
Silvie Eckhardt
FOI Officer & Paralegal | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal
Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2603
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
Dear FOI Contact Officer,
I accept the assumptions you have detailed in your correspondence this morning.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Monceaux
Hi Dan
Can I take your request to only be seeking formal submissions (ie. those made in response to an invitation by the Department) as per your former requests?
Regards
FOI Officer
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
Note: The contents of any legal advice provided by the General Counsel Branch is subject to legal professional privilege. Do not disclose the contents of any such legal advice more broadly within the Department (i.e. outside the scope of persons to whom the legal advice is (or was) directed), via the intranet or outside the Department without first consulting the General Counsel Branch.
Dear FOI Contact Officer,
Yes, please consider my request to only be seeking formal submissions (ie. those made in response to an invitation by the Department) as per my former requests.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Monceaux
Dear Mr Monceaux
For your reference, this email has been sent to the address associated
with each request so as to be published on the rightoknow website if
required:
The Department of Environment and Energy’s FOI team are currently working
through your seven FOI requests made on 8 and 9 January 2017.
We expect to be able to get one decision to you well before the statutory
deadline of 7 February 2017.
At this stage, our ability to complete the remaining 6 requests within the
timeframe has been heavily impacted by expert line area staff taking leave
over January.
Would you please agree to a 30 day extension of the deadline (under
section 15AA of the FOI Act) for each of the below FOI requests?
1. FOI 170108 – submissions on BHP Billiton Olympic Dam Mine
Expansion EPBC 2005/2270 – extension requested until 8 March 2017
2. FOI 170107 – submissions on BHP Billiton Olympic Dam tailings
storage dam wall height increase EPBC 2015/7416 – extension requested
until 7 March 2017
3. FOI 170105 – submissions on Adelaide desalination plant EPBC
2008/4509 – extension requested until 7 March 2017
4. FOI 170104 – submissions on Eyre Iron open pit magnetite mine
EPBC 2013/6919 – extension requested until 7 March 2017
5. FOI 170103 – submissions on Iron Road, central Eyre Iron project
EPBC 2014/7285 – extension requested until 7 March 2017
6. FOI 170102 – submissions on Oceanic Victor SA EPBC 2015/7592 –
extension requested until 7 March 2017
We expect to be able to provide you with decisions on each of these FOI
requests before the extended deadline, however your agreeing to an
extension would enable us more time to work with our line area experts to
best capture all documents.
Please feel free to give me a call to discuss but please confirm in
writing whether you agree to the request for an extension of time.
Many thanks
FOI Officer | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal Section
|General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2603
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
Dear FOI Contact Officer,
I accept your request for a 30 day time extension. I look forward to receiving these determinations and documents as they become available.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Monceaux
Dear Mr Monceaux
Please see the attached correspondence regarding FOI request 170108.
Regards
FOI Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal
Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
Dear FOI Officers,
Thank you for providing me with a practical refusal notice and quantifying the number of pages of documentation associated with my original request.
I would like to re-scope my request to capture the following:
1) a single instance of the proforma submission that was received multiple times (ideally provided by the organisation or group responsible for drafting the template letter)
2) all other unique submissions received
If my request remains impractical in its scope, I wish to request a list of all submissions and their authors, should it exist.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Monceaux
Dear Mr Monceaux
Apologies for our delayed response. As indicated in our section 24AB
notice, your request for:
1) a single instance of the proforma submission that was received multiple
times (ideally provided by the organisation or group responsible for
drafting the template letter)
2) all other unique submissions received
would continue to attract a practical refusal reason.
Accordingly, the Department has accepted your revised request for:
A list of all submissions and their authors
This brings an end to the request consultation process and the Department
will continue to process your request with the refined scope.
Please note that this process has not affected the Department’s ability to
decide whether exemptions apply to documents that fall within your refined
scope.
Regards
Alan Hilvert-Bruce
Senior Legal Officer| Climate Change, Science and
Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2721
e: [1][email address]
Note: The contents of any legal advice provided by the General Counsel
Branch is subject to legal professional privilege. Do not disclose the
contents of any such legal advice more broadly within the Department (i.e.
outside the scope of persons to whom the legal advice is (or was)
directed), via the intranet or outside the Department without first
consulting the General Counsel Branch.
Dear Alan,
Thanks for updating me on this request. I look forward to receiving a list of submissions received and their authors in response to this referral.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Monceaux
Dear Mr Monceaux
Please see the attached documents.
Kind regards
FOI Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment and Energy
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098
e: [Department of the Environment and Energy request email]