Minutes/Actions Environment & Waterways Alliance Meeting Wednesday 15 February, 2016 – Forbes Inn, Forbes Present Brooke Kirkman – Environment & Waterways Lynton Auld – Dubbo Regional Council Alliance Marg Applebee – Central West Lachlan Landcare Carl Tippler – CT Environmental Melissa Schrader – Central West Local Land Cassie Liney – Mid-Western Regional Council Services Catriona Jennings – Dubbo Regional Council Michael Chambers – Parkes Shire Council Deborah Taylor – Bathurst Regional Council Maryanne Smith – Orange City Council Dom Nowlan – Central West Local Land Services Mick Callan – Central Tablelands Local Land Cherie Hughes – Central West Local Land Services Services David Waddell – Orange City Council (Chair) Nina Hooper – Central West Local Land Services Joel Little – Bathurst Regional Council Warwick Doulman – Cabonne Shire Council Apologies Andrew Cosier – Dubbo Regional Council Kate Alberry – Cowra Shire Council Andrew Francis – Parkes Shire Council Kayla Volker – Bogan Shire Council Anna Stapleton – Bathurst Shire Council Kent Boyd – Parkes Shire Council Ashley Wielinga – Warren Shire Council Kerrie Murphy – Narromine Shire Council Bernard Drum – Bathurst Regional Council Kevin Nelligan – Cowra Shire Council Brendan Hayes – Weddin Shire Council Kevin Tighe – Warrumbungle Shire Council Bruce Christie – Central Tablelands Local Land Liz Davis – Central Tablelands Local Land Services Services Mark Riley – Dubbo Regional Council Chris Cannard – Oberon Shire Council Maryanne Stephens – Warren Shire Council Chris McCulloch – Central Tablelands Local Land Matthew Cock – Coonamble Shire Council Services Melissa Ward – Narromine Shire Council Chris Schumacher – Oberon Council Melissa Watkins – Dubbo Regional Council Damon Cupitt – Lithgow Shire Council Michael Glenn – Orange City Council Danielle Littlewood – Central West Local Land Michael McFadden – Orange City Council Services Mick Bell – Narromine Shire Council David Dwyer – Dubbo Regional Council Murray Wood – Dubbo Regional Council David Sherley – Bathurst Regional Council Nik Henry – Central West Local Land Services Debbie Archer – Dubbo Regional Council Paul Bennett – Forbes Shire Council Donna Galvin – Cabonne Shire Council Paul Cashell – Lithgow City Council Grant Baker – Blayney Shire Council Rachel Young – Bathurst Regional Council Harold Sutton – Warrumbungle Shire Council Robert Jehu – Warrumbungle Shire Council Heather Nicholls – Cabonne Shire Council Rolly Lawford – Gilgandra Shire Council Ian Shepherd – Central Tablelands Local Land Roger Smith – Orange City Council Services Russell Deans – Bathurst Regional Council Jon Francis – Orange City Council Sherilyn Hanrahan – Lithgow City Council James Cleasby – Warren Shire Council Stevie Armstrong – Bathurst Regional Council Joshua Devitt – CSU Bathurst Wayne Beatty – Orange City Council Julie Prout – Gilgandra Shire Council Wayne Gailey – Orange City Council 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au Presenters Joel Little – Contamination Central Update Brooke Kirkman – Alliance Project Support Officer Report and Update Melissa Schrader – Central West Local Land Services Relationships and Planning Mick Callan – Central Tablelands Local Land Services Update Cherie Hughes – Central West Local Land Services Update Nina Hooper – Central West Local Land Services - Barking Owl Project Carl Tippler – Riparian Assessment Tool and Iconic Species Development Maryanne Smith – Waratahs Wetland Project Copies of most guest speaker presentations can be found on the Alliance website: http://www.cwcewa.com.au/presentations 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au Chair Facilitator David Waddell Brooke Kirkman Agenda Item 1 Welcome • Meeting was opened at 10.00am • Acknowledgement was made of the Traditional Owners of the Land and their Elders past and present • Introduction of participants • Introduction to the meeting and outline of the content • WHS considerations for the meeting • Actions from last meeting discussed • MOUs still outstanding from Forbes, Lachlan, Warren, Orange and Oberon. ACTION • It was noted that Warren Shire no longer completes State of the Environment reporting. • Cultural Heritage training to be offered to the Alliance group once training format finalised by Mick Callan. ACTION • Alliance to lobby State Government regarding reinstating the Stormwater Trust funding. Partner with Splash and Stormwater NSW. ACTION • David Waddell made note of importance of upcoming Climate Change Funding. An opportunity not to be missed. • Investigate potential projects for NSW Environmental Trust Education Grants. ACTION • Deborah Taylor noted that the General Manager of Bathurst Regional Council feels that the new cost structure of the Alliance appears unfair for the larger Councils. This is based on smaller Councils that argued against council amalgamations based on having suitable capacity to continue as stand-alone organisations. • Alliance membership of Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR) has been finalised. AABR resources are available on the Alliance website: http://www.cwcewa.com.au/australian-association-of-bush-regenerators Agenda Item 2 Contamination Central Joel Little Update • Joel provided an update on the Contamination Central project noting the great work that Craig Flemming achieved in his time in the Contamination Central Project Officer role. • Resources are now available to the 18 Councils involved in the project including a desktop flip chart for Council Officers dealing with contaminated lands issues. These resources are to be included on the Alliance website. ACTION • Case studies and fact sheets will be made available and will be shared on the Alliance website. ACTION • Joel noted how valuable this project has been given that for many staff within Councils they would have had no prior dealings with contaminated lands issues prior to working in their current roles. 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au • 7 Councils have already adopted the contaminated lands policy produced as part of the project with some Councils choosing to make localised amendments, while others chose to adopt the policy without changes. • Funding needs to be finalised by 30 June 2016. • Melissa Schrader noted that the Alliance has great power to seek external funding even if the projects are beyond the scope/experience of the core Alliance members. • David Waddell noted that the Alliance should be seeking significant grant funded projects such as this on an annual basis. Stop chasing individual grants when partnerships can be more productive – climate change funding as an example. ACTION Agenda Item 3 Alliance Project Support Brooke Kirkman Officer Update • Project Officer Reports are now complete and will be updated to the Alliance website: http://www.cwcewa.com.au/project-support-officer-reports • The engagement on the Alliance Facebook page has dropped in comparison to the previous reporting period, although total page ‘likes’ are continuing to trend upwards. Brooke noted that this is an important community engagement tool and is also used as one of the tools to communicate media releases, training events and grant funding to Alliance members. Brooke is now scheduling time each week to manage the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Water.Quality.Alliance • The Alliance website has links to the website of each member Council: http://www.cwcewa.com.au/about-us/. Each Council should reciprocate by including a section on their website stating that they are a member of the Alliance with a link to the Alliance website. ACTION • Joel Little mentioned that Bathurst Regional Council staff had undertaken training around managing negative comments on social media. While it was noted that this has not been an issue to date for the Alliance Facebook page, it has the potential to come up in the future. Joel offered to forward through relevant information. ACTION • Brooke discussed the update of the Alliance 5 Year Plan and the associated audit survey that was sent out. This has not had a great response, yet is critical to providing information regarding to Strategies and Actions from the 5 Year Plan. All member Councils to complete the survey. ACTION • Lynton Auld raised the question of what other Councils do in regards to managing littering noting that Dubbo Regional Council has ongoing litter issues but do not issues PINs. Discussion revolved around resourcing and the value of issuing fines where applicable as this often sends a message to the broader community. • Cassie Liney suggested that training around enforcement, littering etc. may be valuable. ACTION • Cassie also suggested that training or workshops in line with Alliance meetings be held on a subsequent day to encourage and enable other council staff to participate. ACTION • Maryanne Smith suggested that the littering issue could be a focus of the upcoming Environmental Trust Education grants. ACTION 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au • Joel Little noted the value of the NSW EPA Illegal Dumping Handbook. This resource should be shared through the Alliance website. ACTION • Brooke noted the planning is in place to host a Living Waterways and Resilient Cities Workshop in partnership with Splash and Water NSW. This opportunity will be available to up to 8 Councils with a maximum participation of 8 staff members from each Councils across various departments. This was originally scheduled for 11 May but has been