Petroleum Reserved Block Policy July 2019 Petroleum Reserved Block Policy 1 BACKGROUND In April 2018 the Northern Territory Government accepted and committed to implement 135 recommendations made by the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing of Unconventional Reservoirs in the Northern Territory (the Inquiry ). Recommendation 14.4 of the Inquiry’s Final Report requires that the following areas be declared reserved blocks under s 9 of the Petroleum Act , each with an appropriate buffer zone: (a) towns and residential areas (b) national parks (c) conservation reserves (d) areas of high ecological value (e) areas of cultural significance (f) Indigenous Protected Areas and (g) areas of high tourism value. This document sets out the assessment criteria that will determine whether an area falls into one of the above categories and the process for declaring an area a reserved block. A map of all the areas to be declared is at Attachment A . 49% of the Northern Territory will be covered by a reserved block. 2 CATEGORIES OF RESERVED BLOCKS Category 1 – Parks and Reserves An area falls in this category if: (a) it has been declared by the Administrator under ss 12 or 24 of the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1978 (NT) ( TPWCA ); (b) the Parks and Wildlife Commission has entered into an agreement in connection with s 74 of the TWPCA relating to the area; (c) it is land described in s 5 of the TPWCA; (d) it is land declared under the Cobourg Peninsula Aboriginal Land, Sanctuary and Marine Park Act 1981 (NT); (e) it is land held by the Conservation Land Corporation; (f) it is land established as a national park under the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park Act 1989 (NT); (g) it is Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs Nature Park; or (h) it is Kakadu National Park or Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The parks and reserves listed in Category 1 at Attachment B fall within this definition. Buffer zones will be identified following an environmental assessment of the area, which must occur prior to the commencement of any petroleum activity. Category 2 – Towns and residential areas An area falls in this category if it is (a) within a 2km buffer of any gazetted town, (b) the Katherine or Alice Springs municipality, including current and future bore fields and the Alice Springs airport; or (d) a community on Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act ( ALRA ) that the Land Councils recommend becomes a reserved block. The areas listed in Category 2 at Attachment B will be declared. Towns and buffers that have already been declared are not listed. Individual residences outside gazetted towns, including small outstations and pastoral homesteads, are protected by the Code of Practice: Onshore Petroleum Activities in the Northern Territory (the Code ). The Code states that there must be no petroleum infrastructure (including wells and pipes) Petroleum Reserved Block Policy within 2 km of a “habitable dwelling”, which was defined by the Inquiry and is included in the Code to mean “ all buildings or premises where people reside or work, schools and associated playgrounds, permanent sporting facilities and hospitals or other community medical facilities ”. The Code is legally enforceable via the Petroleum Act. Category 3 - High conservation value An area falls in this category if it is a site of conservation significance (SOCS ). 67 SOCS have been identified to date by NT Government scientists. These are listed in Category 3 at Attachment B . Those sites were selected following work done by the Biodiversity Conservation Unit in the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport in 2008. The Department released a comprehensive report entitled Recognising sites of conservation significance for biodiversity values in the Northern Territory . The sites protect the following biodiversity values: threatened species, wildlife aggregations, wetlands, endemic species, and botanical significance. The report explains the scientific methodology that was used to select the sites. A 2km boundary was included in the designation of the site area to ensure all conservation values were taken into account. No additional buffer zone is included. There may be other sites of high ecological value in the Northern Territory. Government will undertake a SREBA in the Beetaloo sub-basin before any production activities are approved. The SREBA will involve the identification of areas to protect similar biodiversity values that are protected by the existing SOCS. Those SOCS will be fully protected. Category 4 - Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) An area falls into this category if it is subject to an agreement between Traditional Owners and the Commonwealth Government to promote biodiversity and cultural resource conservation. The area will become a proposed reserved block only when it has been officially dedicated as an IPA by the Commonwealth Government. Areas that are proposed to be dedicated do not fall in this category. The areas to be granted under this category are listed in Category 4 at Attachment B . Category 5 - Areas of cultural significance Commonwealth legislation (the Native Title Act and ALRA) requires that Traditional Owners and petroleum companies reach an agreement before an exploration permit can be granted. Those agreements may identify culturally significant areas where petroleum activities cannot occur. At the request of the relevant Land Council or native title group, the Minister will declare those areas. It is important to note that areas of cultural significance are already protected by the current legislation, including the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act, the Heritage Act, the Native Title Act and the ALRA. Category 6 - High tourism value The Inquiry did not define the phrase “areas of high tourism value”. Areas of high tourism value often fall within categories 1 - 5. For example, areas that tourists like to visit are often within towns, are parks or reserves, or sites of ecological significance. Areas of “high tourism value” will be determined on a case by case basis. A person may make a submission to the Minister for Resources that an area is of “high tourism value” at any time. The Minister for Resources, acting on advice from the Minister for Tourism, will consider whether the area should be classified as such and will provide reasons for the decision. Category 7 – No petroleum potential The Inquiry recommended that Government not approve any application for an exploration permit in relation to areas that are not prospective for onshore shale gas. The NT Geological Survey in the 2 Petroleum Reserved Block Policy Department of Primary Industry and Resources has identified areas that are not prospective using geological data. Those areas will be declared reserved blocks. Exempted areas This policy does not apply to existing operating and production licences and retention licences, which are over conventional resources that have been operating for decades and provide an energy source to Alice Springs. 3 A STAGED DECLARATION PROCESS The areas in Attachment A will be declared in tranches. The point at which an area will be declared depends on (a) the category of the area (b) whether the area overlaps a granted exploration permit (EP ), and (c) whether the area is on ALRA land. The decision tree at Attachment C shows how the tranche for each area was determined. The table at Attachment B shows the tranche each area falls in to. The areas in Tranche 1 are from Categories 1, 2, 3 and 7. They do not overlap any granted EPs and, except for Tjuwaliyn (Douglas) Hot Springs Nature Park, are not on ALRA land. Stage 1 areas will be declared in the near future. Tranche 2 comprises jointly managed parks and reserves on and off ALRA land. These parks and reserves will be declared as soon as the relevant Board of Management for the park or reserve has been notified of the proposed declaration. Tranche 3 comprises areas that overlap granted exploration permits. Government will negotiate with the relevant petroleum companies regarding the relinquishment of these areas and declare reserved blocks accordingly. Tranche 4 will occur when the Land Councils advise the Minister for Resources that either: (a) they support the declaration of proposed reserved blocks on ALRA land; or (b) they have not consented to the grant of an EP under s42(1) of the ALRA. The areas to be granted in Tranche 4 comprise approximately 60% of the total area to be declared. 3 Petroleum Reserved Block Policy ATTACHMENT A This map is available in greater resolution at https://nt.gov.au/industry/mining-and-petroleum/land-tenure-and- availability/petroleum-reserved-blocks 4 Petroleum Reserved Block Policy ATTACHMENT B Category Tranche 1 Tranche 2 Tranche 3 Tranche 4 Immediate declaration Declare after notice to park board Declare after negotiation Consult with relevant Land Council 1 - Parks 1. Adelaide River Foreshore Conservation Area 1. Alice Springs Telegraph Station 1. Bullwaddy Conservation Reserve Nil. and 2. Alice Springs Desert Park Historical Reserve 2. Caranbirini Conservation Reserve Reserves 3. Anna’s Reservoir Conservation Reserve 2. Arltunga Historical Reserve 3. Corroboree Rock Conservation 4. Attack Creek Historical Reserve 3. Barranyi (North Island) National Park Reserve 5. Barrow Creek Telegraph Station Historical 4. Black Jungle/ Lambells Lagoon 4. Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Conservation Reserve Reserve 6. Berry Springs Nature Park 5. Chamber’s Pillar Historical Reserve 5. Illamurta Springs Conservation 7. Blackmore River Conservation Reserve 6. Djukbinj National Park (comprises Reserve 8. Buffalo Creek Management Area various parks) 6. Keep River National Park Proposed 9. Butterfly Gorge Nature Park 7. Finke Gorge National Park (the area (part subject to a granted EP) 10. Central Mount Stuart Historical Reserve outside OL3 only) 7. Lake Woods Conservation Covenant 11. Channel Island Conservation Reserve 8. Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve 8. Limmen National Park (part subject to 12.