Sustainable dairy development

The NSW dairy industry recognises the importance of implementing environmentally sustainable development and management that enables it to thrive in regional communities.

This section outlines dairy development and operational principles that guide dairy businesses in identifying and assessing potential impacts of the development. These principles include siting, construction and operation activities considering impacts upon the surrounding environment and local amenity, and industry best management practices available to mitigate these.

As outlined in Section 5, a DA requires either a SEE or an EIS to be prepared. These planning application documents must incorporate an environmental management plan (EMP). An EMP outlines best management practices (measures) that will be used in the operation of the dairy system to plan for contingencies (emergency responses) and avoid, minimise or manage potential adverse environmental impacts and land use conflict. It is important that content of the EMP is well considered as it is often used by consent authorities or ARAs (for example, the EPA, WaterNSW) in preparation of the development and licensing conditions.

A construction management plan (CMP) may also be prepared to specifically address the construction components that need to be monitored and managed during the construction phase. This includes the clear identification of relevant contacts and conditions that are required under the DA determination. The following information can be used to help prepare or assess an EMP and CMP. For more technical information, refer to National Guidelines for Dairy Feedpads and Contained Housing.