Planning & Approvals

Planning & Approvals Scoping phase Environmental Impact Statement phase Assessment phase Construction & Continued operation Have your say

Planning & Approvals

Under the NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979, any development that is important to the State for economic, environmental or social reasons can be classified a State Significant Development (SSD) or State Significant Infrastructure (SSI). A SSD or SSI requires approval from the NSW Minister for Planning or Independent Planning Commission before it may proceed.

The CCOP is considered a State Significant Development, and in order to extend its current mining operations, must adhere to a comprehensive assessment and approval application process set out by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. In addition, CCOP requires approval under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. A variation to Cadia’s Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) will also be required, along with a new mining lease for the project area.

A Scoping Report was lodged in May 2024 which resulted in the Department issuing the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) in late June 2024. The EIS and a number of technical studies for the CCOP are now being prepared in line with the requirements outlined in the SEARs.

The EIS will describe the key features of the CCOP and assess the potential environmental and social impacts during construction and operation. These assessments will inform the detailed design of the Project to ensure that impacts are minimised as far as reasonably and feasibly possible.

Cadia has commissioned Umwelt Environmental and Social Consultants to assist with the preparation of the EIS. The EIS will cover topics such as social impacts, economic impacts, visual impacts, air quality, noise, vibration, traffic, surface and groundwater, Aboriginal and historical heritage, soils and agriculture and biodiversity impacts amongst others.

Scoping phase

The preparation and submission of a Scoping Report (Report) to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (Department) is the first phase of the assessment process. The purpose of a Scoping Report is to identify the matters and impacts that are likely to be relevant to the project and the community.

The CCOP Scoping Report was recently submitted to the DPHI for preliminary review and can be viewed on the NSW Government Major Projects Planning Portal.

On 24 June 2024, the DPHI issued the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for the CCOP. The SEARs outline the technical assessments that must be undertaken as part of the EIS phase of development.

How we’re listening:

In addition to regular opportunities for community feedback, the local community and key stakeholders were extensively engaged as part of the preparation of the Scoping Phase Social Impact Scoping Report, which has been submitted to the Department. Preliminary engagement to inform the SISR included:

65 landholder meetings with those nearest the CCOP
130 meetings with local and state representatives, agencies, community and environmental groups
3 CCOP stakeholder and community workshops
16 Cadia district residents meetings
28 pop up stalls across Orange, Millthorpe, Blayney, Canowindra and Molong.

The outcomes of the engagement and consultation activities to inform the preparation of the SISR are summarised in the Impact Assessment Update Newsletter (April 2024)

A more comprehensive Social Impact Assessment is being completed as part of the EIS, with further community and stakeholder engagement to inform the study underway.

Environmental Impact Statement phase

As part of the development approval application process, Cadia must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will include comprehensive assessments and studies that outline the potential environmental and social impacts of the CCOP and how these studies will inform the detailed design of the Project:

Community consultation and engagement
Preparation of detailed technical studies to assess project impacts
Adjusting the design of the project, where possible, to minimise or avoid the impacts of the project.

Umwelt has been engaged as the lead consultant to prepare the EIS alongside 10 individual specialist consultancies engaged to complete technical assessments. A Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (REAP) is required to certify the EIS prior to its formal submission to the DPHI.

The following studies are being undertaken as part of the EIS preparation phase:

wheel graphic showing studies are being undertaken as part of the EIS preparation phase

Community feedback during the preparation of the EIS is critical to inform the detailed design of the CCOP and ensure, where possible, community views and concerns are addressed.

Community will be kept informed of the progress of these studies, with information shared via the website, at community pop-ups, meetings and via email when studies are complete.

Cadia is developing a series of summary fact sheets that cover the potential impacts, outcomes and mitigations for each of the study areas. These can be accessed on the Resources and FAQ webpage.

EIS Exhibition

At the conclusion of the EIS preparation phase, the EIS will be placed on public exhibition for a minimum of 28 days. During the public exhibition of the EIS, community and key stakeholders will be encouraged to provide a submission outlining their comments or concerns.

The EIS exhibition process is managed by the Department via the Major Projects Planning Portal. The Cadia team will support community to review and comment on the outcomes presented in the EIS and CCOP generally through face to face and online engagement activities in the lead up to and during the EIS exhibition period.

Assessment phase

The Department will publish all the submissions it receives during the EIS exhibition period on the major projects website and ask Cadia to respond to the issues raised in a submissions report. The submissions report will be published on the Projects website and the Department will complete its assessment of the project, in accordance with relevant legislation, plans, policies and guidelines. An assessment report outlining the Department’s findings will be published on the Major Projects website and the consent authority will be asked to determine the project.

Project Determination

If there are less than 50 unique objections lodged, all relevant local Council’s support the development application and there have been no donations to political parties, the development application may be determined by the Minister for Planning.

If the number of unique objections exceeds 50, one or more local Council’s object, or where there have been donations to political parties, the CCOP will be referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for determination.

In some cases the IPC may hold public hearings prior to determining the development applications. Public hearings are designed to give the community a chance to have a say on the findings and recommendations of Department’s assessment report and raise any residual concerns about the project before the IPC determines the development application.

We will continue to keep community informed of the development application process on the CCOP website, at community events and in our newsletters.

Construction & Continued operation

Construction planning and sequencing for the CCOP is ongoing and highly dependent on final approval of the Project. If the Project is approved, we will notify community of the timing of any construction work and will work with near neighbours to minimise impacts.

Have your say

Ongoing community engagement and consultation is a critical part of the assessment process, and we are committed to extensive and transparent engagement across all phases of the CCOP development. If you would like to provide feedback on the CCOP project, or have a question, please let us know.

To find out more, visit the News and Events.

Planning & Approvals