EcoFutures led this project to develop a scoping report for Australia’s first commercial marine kelp farm in NSW, which was classified as a ‘State Significant Development’ (SSD) in New South Wales.
This scoping report was prepared in support of a request for the Planning Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). The submission was prepared to meet the requirements of the State Significant Development Guidelines – preparing a scoping report (Appendix A to the state significant development guidelines November 2021) (Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) 2021).
The report included an overview of the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of the project, maps of the project area, identification of legislative approvals required for the project, and assessment of potential environmental risks and actions required to be undertaken within the EIS. Being a new industry in Australia, the project required EcoFutures to undertake extensive research on overseas operations to confirm the approaches required to deliver the project in Australia.