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Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022 (Draft Regulation).
EDO strongly supports more stringent standards on air pollution. Our submission identifies a significant gap in the framework governing air pollution in NSW, including in the Draft Regulation, recommends addressing this serious oversight, and identifies opportunities for the EPA to comply with relevant statutory obligations recognised by the Court, the former Minister and the EPA Board itself. In short, we strongly recommend that the Draft Regulation be amended to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases from industrial plants and activities. We also identify opportunities to strengthen emissions exceedance limits and standards for other air impurities in NSW to better align with best practice.
