The EPA hosted a series of public consultation forums in regional South Australian towns and in the Adelaide Hills over the past few weeks, to seek community feedback on the draft Environment Protection (Air Quality) Policy 2016.
EPA Director Strategy and Business Roslyn Agate said the draft policy has been developed to provide a more effective means of managing South Australia’s air quality.
“The Air Quality Environment Protection Policy aims to protect and improve the health of South Australian communities and our environment by improving the regulation and management of air quality,” Ms Agate said.
“This will mean South Australia will have a single policy that will consolidate three policies and two guidelines and enable the EPA to manage specific areas of concern and set quality objectives for an area,” she said.
“The EPA will be able to apply localised air quality objectives for a specific area and anyone carrying out an activity in such an area will have to ensure that any pollutants named in the declaration will not exceed the ambient concentrations declared for that pollutant,” Ms Agate said.
The new policy will also provide local government with more powers to manage burning in the open, outside the metropolitan area.
A hard copy of the Air Quality Policy can be requested by telephoning (08) 8204 9387 or email (and marking the subject line 'Air Quality Policy').
Comments can also be forwarded by mail before 5 pm, on Friday 15 January 2016 to: Environment Protection (Air Quality) Policy 2015 Environment Protection Authority GPO Box 2607 ADELAIDE SA 5001.
More information on the Environment Protection (Air Quality) Policy 2016.
Photo: West Coast Sentinel