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Flat minimum fee
The flat minimum fee applies to almost all licences and is one fee unit at the granting, anniversary or renewal of a licence plus one unit each time new activities are added to a licence. The flat minimum fee component applies even if no environment management fee is paid.
The current value of the fee unit for flat minimum fees is available at value of fee units.
Environment management fee
The environment management fee applies to almost all licences and varies depending on the activities carried out on the site. It doesn’t apply to dredging and earthworks drainage if no activity is carried out or to closed landfills. Only the highest environment management fee of all activities carried out on a site will apply (per site). Waste transport, dredging and earthworks drainage, if applicable, are an additional charge.
To find out which scheduled activities apply to you, refer to the front page of your licence. The number of fee units applicable to each activity can be found in the Schedule of environmental management fees (312.4 KB PDF). The schedule also outlines the available criteria for discount. In some cases, the number of fee units relates to your location. Information on the zones relevant to the environment management fee can be found in the Maps of EMF zones (678.1 KB PDF).
The current value of the fee unit for environment management fees is available at value of fee units.
Resource efficiency fee
Pollutant load fee
Pollutants and thresholds
A licensee with emissions above threshold levels pays a fee for each liable pollutant. The air and water pollutant emission thresholds are shown in Tables 1 and 2. The load based component only applies for emissions above the threshold levels shown in these tables. The load based component does not apply to the following:
- suspended solids from activities 7(4) dredging and 7(6) earthworks drainage
- ethanol emissions as volatile organic compounds from activities 6(2) breweries and 6(11) wineries and distilleries.
Table 1: Air pollutant emission threshold levels
| Pollutant | Emission threshold level per pollutant per year |
| sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides | 10 tonnes |
| particulates (PM10)2*, volatile organic compounds | 1 tonne |
| lead | 0.1 tonne |
*Particles include red dust particles.
Table 2: Water pollutant emission threshold levels
| Pollutant | Emission threshold level per pollutant per year |
| heat | 10 MW (megawatt) |
| suspended solids, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic matter as BOD5, zinc | 1 tonne |
| lead, copper | 0.1 tonne |
If the pollutants on the list are not discharged from your site or the discharge is less than the emission threshold, then pollutant load based fees do not apply. As a guide, if you do not need to report your pollutant emissions to the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI), the pollutant load based component may not apply to you. However, some pollutants such as suspended solids, which although not NPI pollutants, are important environmental issues in South Australia and therefore are included in the load based fee. If you’re unsure whether the load based component applies to you, please contact your licence coordinator.
Zone weightings
Zone weightings are multipliers in the pollutant load fees that reflect the relative importance of reducing certain pollutants in specified areas. This provides a greater incentive for immediate pollutant reductions in those areas. Information on the zones relevant to the pollutant load fee can be found in the Maps of REF zones (898 KB PDF).
All pollutant load based fee are multiplied by zone weightings. The default zone weighing is 1 except for the pollutant and zone combinations shown in Tables 3 and 4.
Table 3: Environmental zones and weightings for air pollutants
| Zone | Pollutants | Weighting |
| Port Pirie | lead | 15 |
| Whyalla | red dust particulates | 4 |
| Adelaide metro airshed | volatile organic compounds | 1.5 |
| Adelaide metro airshed | nitrogen oxides | 2 |
| Outside council areas (very remote regional sites) | volatile organic compounds | 0.5 |
| Mount Gambier | particulates | 2 |
Table 4: Environmental zones and weightings for water pollutants
| Zone | Pollutants | Weighting |
| Port River | nitrogen | 3 |
| Metro coasts | nitrogen | 3 |
| Port River | phosphorus | 2 |
| Metro coasts | suspended solids | 2 |
| Upper Spencer Gulf | zinc, lead, copper | 2 |
| Lake Bonney (South East) | organic matter | 2 |
Pollutant fee units
Tables 5 and 6 show the pollutant fee units per tonne of pollutant (excluding zone weighting) for pollutants discharged to air and water respectively.
Table 5: Fee units for pollutants discharged to air
| Pollutant | Load based fee units per tonne of pollutant |
| sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides | 1 |
| particulates, volatile organic compounds | 10 |
| lead | 100 |
Table 6: Fee units for pollutants discharged to water
| Pollutant | Load based fee units per tonne of pollutant |
| heat (fee per megawatt heat added to water) | 1 |
| suspended solids, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic matter as BOD5, zinc (fee per tonne of pollutants) | 10 |
| lead, copper (fee per tonne of pollutants) | 100 |
Calculation of the pollutant load fee
The pollutant load fee is calculated for each relevant pollutant as:
Pollutant load fee =
(tonnes of pollutant emitted) × (number of pollutant fee units) × (value of the pollutant fee unit) × (zone weighting)
The current value of the fee unit for pollutant load fees is available at value of fee units.
Water reuse fee
The water reuse fee applies to discharges of water to marine waters where average annual salinity (as total dissolved solids) of the discharged water is less than 1,500 mg/l. It does not apply to discharges of water to inland waters.
This fee is charged per megalitre of water discharged and applies to discharges of 10 ML or more per year.
The water reuse fee is calculated as 1 water reuse fee unit per ML. Note if you breach the fee you pay the fee for all water discharged, including the first 10 ML (per site).
The current value of the fee unit for water reuse fees is available at value of fee units.
Value of fee units
The values of fee units for the financial year from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 are:
- Flat fee component = $57.50
- Environment management component = $605.00/fee unit
- Pollutant load-based component = $5.65/fee unit
- Water re-use component = $14.30/fee unit
- Any other charge = $17.90/fee unit.
Fee calculation examples
The following guidelines provide specific examples on calculating fees using the LFS:
- How to calculate licence fees for a site undertaking multiple activities and with significant emissions of pollutants (62.7 KB PDF)
- How to calculate licence fees for sewage treatment works and septic tank effluent disposal schemes (71.6 KB PDF)
- How to calculate licence fees for waste depots (75.4 KB PDF)
- How to calculate licence fees for waste transporter businesses (87.1 KB PDF)
- How to calculate licence fees for wineries and distilleries (67.1 KB PDF)
Options for reducing fees
There are a number of opportunities available for licensees to reduce their licence fee and to make payments easier. These are outlined below:
- Accredited licence
All licensees can reduce their licence fees by 50% if granted an accredited licence. An accredited licence requires a high standard of environmental performance. For more information, refer to the EPA Guidelines: Accredited Licences (56.6 KB PDF). - Reduce emissions
Some licensees emit key pollutants above threshold levels and have to pay a resource efficiency fee. You can lower or even eliminate this fee by reducing pollutant emissions. - Specified environmental measures and improving environmental performance
Licensees can reduce their fees by making environmental improvements. You can determine if fee reductions could apply to you and the specific requirements for your particular activity by referring to the environment management fee schedule (312.4 KB PDF), or contact you licence coordinator for further information. For example:
- sewage treatment works can reduce their licence fees by reusing wastewater instead of discharging it to inland or marine waters
- landfills can reduce their fee level by meeting certain requirements.
- Review activities
Licensees can review the activities listed on their licence to ensure they are actually carrying out the activities listed and that the activity levels are accurate. If an activity is not being carried out, licensees can surrender the activity or vary the activity level which may reduce the licence fee. - Surrender licence
If all your activities are below threshold (refer to Schedule 1 of the Environment Protection Act), you may not require a licence. Please contact your licence coordinator to discuss whether you require a licence and if you don’t you can apply to surrender your licence using the Surrender of Environmental Authorisation form (24.1 KB PDF). If activity levels increase at a later, date you can then reapply for a licence at that time using the Licence Application form (569.9 KB PDF). - Pay by instalments
Your licence fees can be paid in quarterly instalments. If you wish to do this, please request this in writing addressed to (please note that the $54 flat fee will be charged to your first invoice).
Senior Licensing Officer
Licensing and Regulatory Services
EPA
GPO Box 2607
Adelaide SA 5001 - Fee reduction or waiver
Under circumstances approved by the Minister, the EPA has the power to waive or reduce licence fees under s116 of the Environment Protection Act 1993 (EP Act). Reductions are only granted under exceptional circumstances. If you feel you have a case for a fee reduction on the basis of fairness or hardship talk to your licence coordinator about applying in writing for a fee reduction.
Development of the LFS
Reason for the change
The fee system was changed because:
- In 2000 the Environment, Resources and Development Committee of Parliament recommended that a larger proportion of licence fees should be based on the amount and type of pollutants discharged to the environment. In view of this, the State Government decided to extend the use of load-based licensing.
- The EPA's experience as an environmental regulator since the commencement of the EP Act has shown that although some activities cost more time and effort than others, this was not fully reflected in the previous fee structure.
- It is considered good practice to review the fee schedules regularly, about once every 10 years, when the regulations expire.
Development and consultation
The EPA developed the new fee system in conjunction with independent consultants who provided advice on options for an improved fee system and details on the chosen fee system.
The EPA undertook an extensive consultation process for the development of the new fee system. This included consultation with the Reference Group1 as well as two stages of public consultation in November-December 2004 and May-June 2006.
Documents provided during the second stage of consultation consisted of a Discussion Paper: Draft Licence Fee Structure for public consultation and the Consultancy report: A proposed licence fee system for South Australia.
Following consultation, the EPA made changes to the draft fee system to address the issues raised during public consultation and in consultation with the Reference Group.
The changes are discussed in the document entitled Changes made to Environment Protection Authority (EPA) licence fee structure to address issues raised in public consultation, May and June 2006, as well as issues raised by the Reference Group.
[1]The Licence Fee Structure Reference Group consists of representatives from Business SA, Engineering Employers Association of South Australia, SA Chamber of Mines and Energy, SA Water, SA Wine Industry Association, SA Farmers Federation, energy sector in the Port River region, Department of Trade and Economic Development, Northern Industry Environmental Forum, Waste Management Association, Local Government Association and the Environmental Defenders Office representing the community.
Last modified: 26/06/2012 03:47 pm
