Highlights from Chief Executive
Welcome to my first annual report as Chief Executive of the EPA, having taken up the role in May after my predecessor Professor Campbell Gemmell returned to his home country of Scotland.
At the outset of the financial year, we set ourselves an ambitious program of work. In presenting this annual report for the Environment Protection Authority for 2013–14, I am confident in the many achievements we have delivered and the value we have created for the South Australian community.
Having previously held the role of Deputy Chief Executive, as well as other senior roles since the inception of the EPA, I’ve been well positioned to help the organisation grow and develop, particularly in recent times. In his two years with the EPA, Professor Gemmell drove a change agenda to assist us in becoming a more flexible and robust regulator and improve our engagement with stakeholders.
I intend to build on this work, engaging with our stakeholders and the community to identify future opportunities. No doubt we will face challenges, both environmental and economic, and the need to continue building an organisation that has a strong learning culture, is innovative and that involves the community in our decision making.
Nationally the EPA has worked with other state and territory EPAs to establish the Heads of EPA, the aim of which is to have an authorising setting where Australian environmental protection regulators can share knowledge and experiences, and create greater jurisdictional coherence. I was also appointed Chair of the Australasian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators neTwork (AELERT), which is a cross-jurisdictional network for a broad spectrum of environmental regulators established to improve operational effectiveness, enhance regulatory compliance capacity and promote consistency of approach to operational regulatory reform for its member agencies.
Throughout the year, our leadership team has focused on extending the EPA’s reach into our regions with visits to a number of locations and licensed premises, and meetings with stakeholders. This work has included: tours to Mount Gambier, the EPA South East office and Naracoorte to meet with various licensees and stakeholders; community and partner meetings in Waterloo and the Clare region; and a visit to the Murraylands and Murray Mouth to view some of the important water quality projects and environmental issues in the area. It has also involved presentations to wide-ranging industry and interest groups, as well as strategic discussions about our priorities and consideration of emerging national and international policy and regulation.
The EPA Board, led by Presiding Member Mia Handshin, has also actively engaged and listened to members of our community, industry and other stakeholders through their commitment to the Board consultation program. This commitment adds greater value and feedback to the work EPA undertakes and it determines and validates the focus of our work. We also welcomed new and highly skilled members to the EPA Board this year, further building our relationships with industry and the local government sector.
I recognise the considerable contribution of Mr Stephen Hains who retired from the EPA Board on 3 August 2013 after a long period of service spanning more than 10 years. Stephen worked tirelessly on building relationships with local government and represented the EPA Board as a member of the Zero Waste SA Board, Chair of the EPA/Local Government High Level Group, Chair of the Planning Review Committee and Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
I congratulate and welcome the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, the Hon. Ian Hunter, back to the portfolio following the state government elections in March 2014.
On 19 September 2013, and after two years of dedication and effort by the EPA, Ms Handshin and Prof Gemmell officially presented the 2013 State of the Environment (SoE) Report to Minister Hunter at a special event for key stakeholders. The report, the sixth of its kind, is significant for a number of reasons. It provides evidence that environmental quality and sustainability must remain at the forefront of government, business and community decision making to ensure the long-term wellbeing and prosperity of the state.
The SoE Report reminds us that our quality of life, economic success and social fabric are underpinned by the state of our environment. I encourage you all to access the report or view the five-minute video that provides a ‘snapshot’ of the key findings and trends from the report.
The EPA is continuing to focus on tackling particular environmental challenges in the state. These challenges include: major point sources of pollution and waste; South Australia’s legacy issues such as site contamination and the interface between industry, transport and residential dwellings; increasing urban and infrastructure development and renewal; inappropriate and illegal management of wastes and resource recovery; and the continuing expansion of mining in South Australia. The first annual compliance plan for 2013–14 has been a main contributor in helping us manage these key challenges.
Internal reforms have also seen us improve our organisational efficiency and effectiveness. An important example of this is the successful delivery of the Licensing Administration and Modernisation Project (LAMP), marking a new era of electronic business improvement systems for the EPA. The licensing and waste levy system, to commence implementation in the coming months, will deliver improved workflow and business processes, better tracking and management reporting, and refreshed licensing, all resulting in a more efficient and effective EPA.
As part of LAMP, a new Environment Licensing Forms (ELF) System will cater for online submission of application forms and payments, and provide significant benefits to licensees by simplifying the process of submitting forms, renewals, annual returns and payments. LAMP will offer further improvements during the next financial year by providing information to the community via our new and improved online public register.
For the first time this year, we are reporting our achievements for environmental and radiation protection through a single annual report. Radiation protection is an area of regulation entrusted to the EPA under the Radiation Protection and Control Act 1982, and this function is carried out with the invaluable assistance of the Radiation Protection Committee.
Of particular importance this year has been our work to finalise the four-year program into third party testing of X-ray machines. This program is designed to help ensure X-ray equipment in the state is appropriately regulated in the face of significant increases in the number of applications to register dental, medical and veterinary imaging apparatus over the last decade.
I would like to mention one more area of achievement. Air quality is increasingly a challenge worldwide, especially with population growth, industrial activity and warming temperatures. We are fortunate in South Australia that our air quality is good overall. To ensure we are able to inform the public about local air quality, we added two new monitoring stations this year, including one in the metropolitan centre. Near-live data will help everyone know about the air they are breathing.
You will find these and many more achievements detailed in this annual report. The EPA website and publications also provide a wealth of information about our activities and performance. Some of you may already have joined our conversation through the EPA twitter account: @SA_EPA launched in September 2013.
The past year has been both busy and challenging for the EPA. I expect the next year will continue on this path as we work towards achieving our Corporate Plan 2014–15, which is focused on achieving safer communities, a better understanding of the environment, effective response and safeguarding our resources. Through this, we can maintain the momentum of building a nation-leading EPA that works to improve the quality of our environment so that it can be enjoyed by our future generations.
I thank the EPA staff and Board, as well as our partners, stakeholders and supporters, and Prof Gemmell, for their pursuit of a better environment for all South Australians.
Tony Circelli
Chief Executive
Environment Protection Authority