10/07/2016
One thing I encountered often when I worked as a Green Scorpion, was the fact that very few people take the time to familiarize themselves with the laws governing their particular activities.
An example to illustrate: A farmer has an undeveloped, previously uncultivated piece of agriculturally zoned land, covered with natural flora, some of which is alien vegetation, some indigenous. So very rare species exist only on this piece of land. It is pristine and is right up against the mountain. He wants to use it to build a new processing facility for his harvest, with possible storage space to be incorporated at a later stage. Several dams and a small stream are in the nearby vicinity of the proposed development. He starts to bulldozer the land to level it in anticipation of the approval from the local Council to build the processing facility.
This simple action sets in motion many possible environmental and legal consequences and he should check the relevant laws before commencing with any such activity. Unfortunately, as is all to often the case, the regulator only gets involved after the action has already commenced and it is then that the farmer is at a loss as to how to proceed.
There are so many options available to him at that particular moment, but all seem extremely expensive and burdensome and the procedures seem to take a long time to complete. This is where he most needs assistance and guidance and that is when he needs to come talk to Environmental Advisory Services.
We guide him through the processes required to bring him into compliance with the relevant regulations and advise him how to go about getting his proposed development lawful. We advise him as to the best possible outcome for him, depending on the facts of his particular case, what the regulator wants, and what other options are legally viable for him to exercise.
Running the entire process would fall to an Environmental Assessment Practitioner, who would have to remain objective and independent, and if the farmer decides to fight the regulator's decisions, he would need an Environmental Attorney, who would be completely biased for his client. Both are rather costly, but can be minimized if he obtains the advice from Environmental Advisory Services first, as to which options to exercise, which decisions to fight and how to go about doing that.
We also assist the EAP with the law elements in regards to the legal aspects and minutiae of the entire procedure and can provide the farmer with more alternative actions to pursue and consider before complying with the regulator's decisions or before undertaking costly environmental assessments or scoping reports. Such advice would normally be provided by a specialist environmental attorney, but owing to Environmental Advisory Services' experience working inside the system, we are in a unique position to be able to provide the correct and appropriate advice to our clients at a fraction of the cost of the specialist attorney and are able to assist the EAP with any legal technicalities with which they may not be familiar.
