Infrastrastructure projects, be it local or state, are hard enough to get approved when modifying the local environment.
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The team at the Mulloon Institute is finding it particularly tricky, despite its work being recognised broadly as beneficial for the environment and agriculture, says chief executive officer and managing director, Carolyn Hall.
The not-for-profit, research, education and advocacy organisation did have a win in March last year when changes to the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy meant projects delivering landscape rehydration infrastructure and deemed to be doing good for the environment were allowed to bypass the local government development application process and go straight to the relevant State Government agencies for approval.
But they have hit a new snag, that being an understaffed NSW Department of Planning and Environment which appears unable to process one of their projects - or at least she said that was the organisation's assumption given the lack of response on the application's status.
The project is for the rebuilding of habitat for the endangered green and golden bell frog along the Molonglo River near Bungendore - recognised as the species' last toehold on the Southern Tablelands.
State Government funding of $170,000 was announced in May 2022 and was on a deadline to rehabilitate the area before the next big dry.
Ms Hall said dry weather in 2023 had already proven a concern, especially after the two most recent surveys failed to detect the frog's presence.
Changes to the development pathway have included a landscape rehydration infrastructure guide being developed after a presentation to State Parliament in 2020 inspired then environment minister Rob Stokes and the Planning and Environment Department to support the changes and create a new approvals pathway under "Part 5" of the legislation, in doing so avoiding the local government development application step.
"It doesn't remove all the approvals required, but means they (development proponents) can go direct to the department or state agencies," she said.
However, they hadn't anticipated the staff shortage stalling the project in its final approval stage and it may now be too late for this remnant green and golden bell frog population.
Plenty of work had also already been done.
While the bypassing of the local government approvals had been removed, significant costs and effort remained in the form of "specialist" reports, such as biodiversity assessments, European and Indigenous heritage assessments, NSW works permits, a review of environmental effects, and controlled activity approval application and technical landscape rehydration infrastructure designs and hydraulic modelling - collectively a big expense.
She said while land rehydration projects had potential to help drought resilience and in managing carbon and small water cycles, plenty of hoops remained to avoid anybody "just tossing stuff in the creek".
"They need to prove their competence," she said and navigate the new landscape rehydration infrastructure approval pathway.
A spokesperson for Minister for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Heritage, Penny Sharpe, said the Department received a licence application for green and golden bell frog project on the Molonglo River from an individual applicant on December 30, 2022.
Additional information on the application was sought from the applicant by the Department January 13, 2023, they said.
"The department does not have a record of a response received from the applicant as part of this licence application," the spokesperson said.
"Once the information requested has been received, the licence application will be assessed.
"We welcome a response from the applicant as soon as possible."
Ms Hall, however, said the team at Mulloon Institute has received no communication from the department since January 2023.
