The extended pit shell and associated rehabilitation concepts will form part of a submission of a variation to the existing Work Plan and must satisfy any requirements prescribed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) - Regulatory Operations (RA) division.

The first step in the approval pathway is a referral to the Minister for Planning to decide if the project requires an Environmental Effects Statement (EES). Boral has referred the project and is waiting on a determination from the Minister. The determination will guide the future statutory approval pathway.  

The proposal to expand the extraction boundary requires the following statutory approvals:

• A Work Authority and Work Plan Variation under the Extractive Industries Development Act 1995 for the extended quarry operations.
• A Planning Scheme Amendment (PSA) to the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme and a planning permit under the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
• A Works Approval and Licence under the Environment Protection Act 1970 for the increased water discharge volumes associated with the quarry activities.

The PSA could take a few different forms including:

1. Amend the Planning Scheme so that the whole of the site is in a zone where the use of extractive industry is a permissible land use; or
2. Amend the Planning Scheme to include the whole of the site in the Specific Controls Overlay (SCO) and approve the Project via an Incorporated Document.

Environmental technical studies have been completed to support the proposal and ensure appropriate management and mitigation measures are developed and implemented for the proposed expanded operations.

Mitigation measures seek to avoid, minimise and manage the potential effects associated with biodiversity, surface and groundwater, landscape and visual, soils and erosion, heritage, noise and air quality. The potential for significant environmental effects are limited and in all instances manageable through a combination of standard and bespoke mitigation measures that can be implemented and overseen through the regulatory framework that applies to all extractive industries.