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Guideline Environmental Protection Act 1994

of 19 • ESR/2018/4337 • Version 3.01 • Effective: 01 NOV 2019

Spatial information submission

This guideline is intended to assist in the preparation of spatial information associated with the submission of approved

forms under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) including the annual return, the plan of operations and the

estimated rehabilitation cost.

Table of contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2

2 What is spatial information? ........................................................................................................ 2

2.1 What spatial information is required? ........................................................................................ 2

3 What format requirements apply? ............................................................................................... 2

4 How do I submit spatial information? ......................................................................................... 3

4.1 Lodgement via email ................................................................................................................. 3

5 Digital spatial data submissions .................................................................................................. 4

5.1 Geometry .................................................................................................................................. 4

5.2 File type .................................................................................................................................... 5

5.3 File size and feature limit .......................................................................................................... 5

5.4 File naming convention ............................................................................................................. 5

5.5 Coordinate reference system requirements .............................................................................. 6

5.6 Multiple sites ............................................................................................................................. 6

5.7 Metadata requirements ............................................................................................................. 6

6 Map submissions .......................................................................................................................... 7

6.1 Map features ............................................................................................................................. 8

6.2 File size limit ............................................................................................................................. 9

6.3 File naming convention ........................................................................................................... 10

6.4 Supporting information ............................................................................................................ 11

7 Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 12

8 Further assistance ...................................................................................................................... 13

Attachment 1 – Annual returns – shapefile attributes and submission requirements ................ 14

Attachment 2 – Annual returns – map requirements...................................................................... 18

Guideline


of 19 • ESR/2018/4337 • Version 3.01 • Effective: 01 NOV 2019 Department of Environment and Science

1 Introduction

This guideline has been developed for proponents who are submitting spatial information associated with applications and reporting processes under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act). The purpose of this guideline is to outline formatting and content requirements to ensure the standardisation of spatial information and provide consistency of submissions received, enabling the department to more effectively process and analyse information. This guideline has been divided into two sections covering the submission of spatial information as:

digital spatial data, and

maps.

Please refer to the relevant section of the guideline to assist with the submission of digital spatial data or maps. If you require assistance with the preparation or submission of spatial information, please contact the department at [email protected].

2 What is spatial information?

In the context of this guideline, spatial information refers to data (spatial data) and details which represent the connection between people, places and activities. Spatial information consists of data that can be mapped, and any associated information such as metadata which provides context and meaning. Spatial data represents the locations and shapes of geographic features and the relationships between them and is usually stored as coordinates. An activity or infrastructure that is located within the boundary defined by an environmental authority (EA) may be considered to be spatial information. Examples include, but are not limited to the location of:

buildings

excavations

sorting areas

holding tanks

storage areas

exploration or groundwater bores

monitoring points

pipelines

disturbance areas.

2.1 What spatial information is required?

Spatial information can be captured for a range of activities and infrastructure associated with the area and location defined by an EA. Several approved forms under the EP Act support and require the submission of spatial information as part of the application or reporting process. Proponents are required to familiarise themselves with the relevant spatial information obligations within the relevant approved forms including the:

Plan of operations

Estimated rehabilitation cost,

Progressive rehabilitation and closure plan; and

Annual return.

3 What format requirements apply?

Spatial information must be submitted as either digital spatial data (shapefiles) or as maps. The applicable format is specified within each approved form and proponents are required to review the relevant form and identify which format applies to the spatial information submission.

mailto:[email protected]

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For details on submitting spatial information within this guideline, please refer to:

Section 5 Digital spatial data submissions for details on submitting shapefiles, and

Section 6 Map submissions for details on submitting static maps.

4 How do I submit spatial information?

Spatial information can be submitted in the following ways:

digital spatial data (shapefiles) and digital maps as email attachments to:

[email protected].

hardcopy maps by post to:

Permit and Licence Management Department of Environment and Science GPO Box 2454 Brisbane QLD 4001

as otherwise specified within the relevant approved form.

Note: File transfer links, cloud based systems such as ‘Dropbox’ etc., USB, hard drives and other file storage devices will not be accepted by the department. If incorrect or incomplete information is provided or submitted incorrectly, proponents may be required to re-submit the information or provide alternative supporting information. This guideline outlines the minimum submission requirements.

4.1 Lodgement via email

The specific requirements for email lodgement are provided below along with an example in Figure 1. The subject line of the email must include the following details:

a heading that states ‘Spatial Information for (EA Number)...’

the EA Number

the application or reporting process e.g. annual return; and

if multiple emails are being submitted, the number of the email, for example Email 1 of xxx.

For example: Spatial Information for EPPR0372287 - Annual Return

The body of the email should also include the following information:

1. the relevant declaration signatory name (as completed on the approved form) and their contact details

for the matter being submitted; and

2. the submitter’s name and contact details if different from 1 above.


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Note: Multiple emails may be submitted. A size limit of 20MB applies to each email submitted (see section 5.3

below).

5 Digital spatial data submissions

Proponents are required to submit digital spatial data to the department in shapefile format only. The department requires that the shapefiles and the associated attribute information are submitted in a defined format (schema) to ensure consistency in the data being received from sites across Queensland. Schemas have been created for the specific data types such as disturbance and rehabilitation data. Please refer to the relevant approved form for defined schema requirements and the following sections for additional shapefile submission requirements.

5.1 Geometry

The geometry of shapefiles may be a point, line or polygon dependent on the feature. For features which include an area of disturbance (e.g. infrastructure footprints, a dam, an excavation or pit, or a laydown area) or rehabilitation, a polygon shapefile must be submitted. Additional supplementary information may be provided as points and lines, for example (pipelines or exploration bores), however this information will be in addition to the disturbance or rehabilitation associated with the feature. The relevant approved form contains the geometry options to be used for all schemas.

Figure 1 - Example email submission

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5.2 File type

Shapefiles must be submitted in a zip file format (.zip) and contain at a minimum the following file extensions:

.shp - the main file that stores the feature geometry

.shx - the index file that stores the index of the feature geometry

.dbf - the dBASE table that stores the attribute information of features

.prj - the file that stores the coordinate system information

The following file type is optional, depending on how metadata is submitted:

.xml - the file which stores the metadata about the shapefile.

5.3 File size and feature limit

A file size limit of 10MB applies to each individual shapefile submitted. If an individual file exceeds the 10MB feature limit, break the content into multiple files. A size limit of 20MB applies to each email, including attachments. If your email exceeds the 20MB limit, break the content up across multiple emails.

5.4 File naming convention

Both the individual shapefiles, the compressed (.zip) files and associated metadata files must be named using Value Names from Table 1 below. Shapefile names must only include alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers) and the underscore character to separate words. The file names must not include spaces, periods, dashes or any other special characters. The file submission naming convention must follow the below format:

EANo_Process_DataType_Geometry_FileCreationDate_FileSequenceCode(if required).<file_format>

For example: EPPR00372287_ ERC_TD_PY_20180419_A.zip.

Table 1 - File names – Shapefiles

Value Names Description

EANo Environmental authority permit number

Process

The relevant process spatial data is being submitted for, either:

AR = Annual Return

PoO = Plan of operations

ERC = Estimated rehabilitation cost

PRCplan = Progressive rehabilitation and closure plan

Data type Data type refers to the data within each shapefile. For example, type may be existing rehabilitation or proposed disturbance.

Data type codes are provided within each approved form.

Geometry The geometry code must be one of the following:

PT – for point data

LN – for line data

PY – for polygon data

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File creation date The date must be in the format YYYYMMDD and ordered from year to day.

YYYY = four digits for year

MM = two digits for month

DD = two digits for day

File sequence code (if required)

File sequence is an alphabetised code which may be used if required, when

multiple files are being submitted for the same data type. For example using A, B or

C at the end of the file name - EPPR00372287_ ERC_ED_PY_20180419_A.pdf.

5.5 Coordinate reference system requirements

Shapefiles must be provided in the geographic coordinate system and in the Australian geodetic datum reference system - Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) in unprojected geographic coordinate format [Lat/Long].

5.6 Multiple sites

For EA’s which cover multiple sites, spatial data is required to be submitted as one file for each data type. Refer

to Section 2 for additional information about data types.

5.7 Metadata requirements

Shapefiles must be submitted with the minimum metadata outlined in Table 2 - Metadata requirements for shapefiles below. The provision of metadata is mandatory and should be provided as either:

.xml file within your shapefile; or

as an excel compatible spreadsheet within your zip file.

Note the file naming convention within Section 5.4 applies to metadata files.

Table 2 - Metadata requirements for shapefiles

Metadata Field Details

Environmental authority permit number Provide the environmental authority number relating to the submission.

Environmental authority holder name/s Provide environmental authority holder/s details.

Title Provide the title for the submission. For example: Annual return spatial data submission 2019. Resource Productions Pty Ltd, Winding Creek.

Date Provide the date of shapefile creation and last revision (if applicable).

Abstract and purpose Provide a summary of the data and its purpose.

Metadata author and contact information

Name of individual

Organisation name

Position name

Role

Email address

Phone number

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Metadata date stamp Metadata creation date, which is not necessarily the same as the date the shapefile was created.

Identification Information Basic information about the shapefile including e.g. citation, keywords and spatial extent of the data.

Topic category Provide the category that the data relates to. For example: Rehabilitation or disturbance.

Release statement As owners of the data, provide acknowledgement and release for the use of the data in accordance with the relevant legislation. For example: Resource Productions, being the owners of this data, acknowledge that the data may be used in accordance with the administration of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 by the department.

6 Map submissions

The following sections outline the requirements for submitting spatial information as a map. For the purposes of this guideline, ‘map’ includes the following:

Digital map – a map produced and supplied in a digital format. Table 3 includes a list of accepted file

formats,

Hardcopy map – printed on paper.

For annual returns, please also refer to Attachment 2 for additional map requirements.

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6.1 Map features

Maps must show the relevant features on site clearly. Areas of interest are most often shown as ‘polygons’.

Figure 2 shows an example of a map containing a number of different polygons (green hatched areas) shown

over an aerial image. The map contains grid coordinates and central coordinates within each polygon on the

map. Maps indicating areas of interest, for example disturbance or rehabilitation can be hand drawn or drawn

using an electronic system.

Figure 2 - Example of a map showing polygons

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Table 3 - Map requirements

Requirement Type Description

File type Maps must be submitted as either a:

Hardcopy map – printed on paper, or

Digital map in one of the following formats:

o PDF

o TIFF

o GeoTIFF

o JPEG o ECW

Location The location of site features must be shown as one of the following:

1. Coordinates of site activities – for sites with a limited number of features

Each map should contain a minimum of six (6) coordinates.

Coordinates to be labelled in latitudes and longitudes - decimal degrees to 6 decimal places. For example, 147.806912 / -21.988621.

OR

2. Grid – for sites with a large number of features

Each map to include a coordinate grid of two or more latitudes and longitudes per axis shown and labelled. Coordinates to be labelled in latitudes and longitudes - decimal degrees to 6 decimal places.

Coordinate system Indicate the coordinate reference system used for example, GDA94. Please note that the use of some reference systems such as UTM or MGA94 (as eastings and northings) will also need to provide information about the relevant zone on the map.

Map data At a minimum the map must show:

The feature of interest e.g. the rehabilitation area(s),

Locational coordinate as either 1 or 2 above,

The name of the feature (e.g. North West Tailings Dam),

For any mapped points (e.g. exploration bores), the coordinate locations for each must be

included either on the map or as a labelled table attachment,

If an aerial image is not used as the underlying map, any nearby local feature for map

orientation e.g. a road or watercourse.

Map features The map must contain the following information:

A legend containing map symbology,

Title and version if applicable,

North point,

Scale shown as a multiple of either 1K, 2.5K, 5K or 10K,

Date of map production

Inset reference map showing nearby townships.

Paper size Maps must be provided on either A4 or A3 and fitted to page.

6.2 File size limit

A size limit of 10MB applies to each digital file being submitted. Emails are also limited to a maximum of 20MB including attachments. If your email exceeds the 20MB limit, break the content up across multiple emails.

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6.3 File naming convention

Digital map files must be named using Value Names from Table 4. File names must only include letters, numbers and the underscore character to separate words. The naming convention must follow the format below:

EANo_Process_DataType_FileCreationDate.<file_format>

For example: EPPR00372287_ AR_TD_20190119.pdf

Table 4 - Digital map file name descriptions

Value Names Description

EANo Environmental authority permit number

Process

For example:

AR = Annual Return

PoO = Plan of Operations

ERC = Estimated Rehabilitation Cost

PRCplan = Progressive rehabilitation and closure plan

Data type Data type refers to the data within each map. For example, type may be existing rehabilitation or proposed disturbance.

Data type codes are provided within the relevant approved form.

File creation date The date must be in the format YYYYMMDD ordered from year to day within the file

name.

YYYY = four digits for year

MM = two digits for month

DD = two digits for day

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6.4 Supporting information

Maps must be submitted with supporting information as outlined within Table 5 and be provided as a separate file (for example as a word document or text file), or hardcopy (paper) submission.

Table 5 - Supporting information

Information Details

Environmental authority permit number

Provide the environmental authority number relating to the submission.

Environmental authority holder name/s

Provide environmental authority holder/s details.

Title Provide the title for the submission. For example: Annual return spatial data submission 2019. Resource Productions Pty Ltd, Winding Creek.

Date Provide the date of map creation and last revision (if applicable).

Author and contact information Provide the author and contact information.

Abstract and purpose Provide a summary of the map and its purpose.

Author and contact information Name of individual

Organisation name

Position name

Email address

Phone number

Topic category Provide the category that the data relates to. For example: Rehabilitation or disturbance.

Release statement As owners of the data, provide acknowledgement and release for the use of the data in accordance with the relevant legislation. For example: Resource Productions being the owners of this data, acknowledge that the data may be used in accordance with the administration of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 by the department.

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7 Glossary

Term Definition

Approved form A form that has been approved for use under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

Attribute (field) Descriptive information about features or elements of a database.

Data type Data ‘type’ refers to the data within each shapefile. For example, type may be existing rehabilitation or proposed disturbance.

Data type codes are provided within each approved form.

Department The administering authority for environmental authorities under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

Digital map A map supplied in a digital format for example, PDF, JPEG or TIFF.

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system where the position on earth’s surface is measured in terms of latitude and longitude using an angular unit of measurement.

Geographic information system (GIS)

A GIS is the spatial capture of themed data layers and the storing, analysing and displaying of the geographically referenced information. A GIS also includes the procedures, software, hardware, operating personnel and spatial data associated with the system.

Geometry The measures and properties of points, lines and polygons (surfaces). In a GIS, geometry is used to represent the spatial component of geographic features.

Line For spatial data, a linear map feature that is not associated with an area. It may be a straight line between two points, but typically includes intermediate point nodes that connect line segments.

Map Digital or hard-copy image that depicts spatial data and usually includes geographic referencing information.

Metadata Information that describes the content, quality, condition, origin, and other characteristics of data or other pieces of information. Metadata for spatial data may describe and document its subject matter, how, when, where and by whom the data was collected, the availability and distribution of information, its projection, scale, resolution and accuracy, and its reliability with regard to a particular standard.

Point For spatial data, a location that is defined by a single coordinate pair (X / Y or lat / long).

Polygon A polygon is a shape with at least three straight sides and angles. A polygon feature may have one or more parts. For spatial data, a polygon is a digital map feature that has a closed set of lines that define a perimeter boundary to represent a place or object that has area at a given scale.

Schema A schema is commonly used in database management systems and documents and describes the structure of database objects (such as a table or a table field) and their format and type.

Shapefile A vector data storage format for digitally storing the location, shape and attributes of geographic features. A shapefile is stored in a set of related files and contains one geometry type.

Spatial information and spatial data

For the purposes of this guideline, the term spatial data or information refers to vector data only. Spatial data includes the location (usually as coordinates), the shape of the location (a point, line or polygon), and may also include the topological relationships between associated geographical features.

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Unique user identifier A unique label or number generated either by the proponent or their GIS which identifies an area on site.

Vector A vector is a mathematical description of an object that has a magnitude (or length) and a direction. For spatial data it is used to represent geographic features as points, lines, and polygons using coordinate-based data.

8 Further assistance

For further assistance regarding the submission of spatial information, please contact the department at [email protected].

Approved by:

Jackie Mckeay

Director – Regional and Regulation Support

Department of Environment and Science

Enquiries:

Email. [email protected]

Version history

Version Effective date Description of changes

1.00 19 December 2018 New document

2.00 26 March 2019 First version of this guideline following amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1994, after the passing of the Mineral and Energy Resources (Financial Provisioning) Act 2018.

2.01 2 May 2019 Version number adjustment. No change to content.

3.00 1 November 2019 Third version of this guideline, to account for the commencement of the requirement for ineligible mining lease environmental authority holders to prepare a progressive rehabilitation and closure plan.

3.01 9 December 2019 This version provides that metadata can be submitted as either an .xml file or excel compatible spreadsheet.


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Attachment 1 – Annual returns – shapefile attributes and submission requirements

The department requires that digital spatial data is submitted in a defined schema to ensure consistency in the data being received from sites across Queensland. This section contains the schema established for disturbance and rehabilitation data for annual return submissions.

Data type for naming convention

Table 1 contains the data types for annual returns for use in the file naming convention.

Table 1 - Data types

Data Type Description

TD Total existing disturbance on site

TR Total existing rehabilitation on site

DA Actual disturbance in the reporting period (year)

RA Actual rehabilitation in the reporting period (year)

PD Proposed disturbance

PR Proposed rehabilitation

Spatial data attributes The annual return (question 4) allows proponents to provide disturbance and rehabilitation information as shapefiles. If providing spatial information as part of the annual return, a minimum of six (6) shapefiles relating to disturbance and rehabilitation are required to be submitted. Table 2 below contains the annual return spatial data requirements and includes examples of the file naming convention using 1 March 2019 as the submission date.

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Table 2 - Annual return disturbance and rehabilitation requirements (example submission date 1 March 2019)

Map Spatial information requirement1 Example file name (e.g. using submission date of 1 March 2019)

Total disturbance and rehabilitation on site as at the end of the reporting period

1 Total existing area of disturbance on site EPPR00372287_AR_TD_PY_20190119.zip.

2 Total existing area of rehabilitation on site

Map to contain the following separately identified areas:

Total area of progressively certified rehabilitation Total area of completed rehabilitation Total area of rehabilitation commenced

EPPR00372287_AR_TR_ PY_20190119.zip.

Disturbance and rehabilitation completed in the reporting period ( e.g. 2018)

3 Area disturbed during the period EPPR00372287_AR_DA_PY_20190119.zip.

4 Areas rehabilitated during the period


Area of progressively certified rehabilitation

Area of completed rehabilitation

Area of rehabilitation commenced

EPPR00372287_AR_RA_PY_20190119.zip.

Disturbance and rehabilitation proposed to be completed in the next year (e.g. 2019)

5 Area of proposed disturbance EPPR00372287_AR_PD_ PY_20190119.zip.

6 Areas of proposed rehabilitation


Area of progressively certified rehabilitation


Area of rehabilitation to be commenced

EPPR00372287_AR_PR_ PY_20190119.zip.

1 Please refer to the annual return approved form for definitions of the disturbance and rehabilitation categories used in this table.

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Annual return – shapefile attributes Table 3 below comprises the disturbance and rehabilitation theme which outlines the required attribute fields. It is important to note that a number of options are provided for some fields, however only one value for each field should be populated from the available list. A spreadsheet containing the schema and a shapefile template is available at: www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/environment/connect#complete_an_annual_return_and. Table 3 - Disturbance and rehabilitation theme

Geometry – Polygon

Field Name Type Allowable

Values Value Description Mandatory

/ Optional Definition Field

Length

FID Object ID System Defined

N/A This field contains the unique identifier for the spatial feature which has been generated by the GIS.

n/a

SHAPE Geometry System Defined

N/A This field contains the spatial feature shape, for example polygon.

n/a

EA_NUM Text Text Unique user entered identifier

Mandatory This field contains the alpha-numeric environmental authority number relevant to the spatial information.

20

SITE_NAME Text Text Unique user entered identifier

Mandatory This field contains the site name relating to the environmental authority.

255

SITE_ID Text Text Unique user entered identifier

Mandatory This field contains a unique identifier for the spatial feature, which has been generated by the proponent.

255

DATE_START Date Date in the format of DD/MM/YYYY

Date start Mandatory This field indicates the reporting commencement date e.g. 01/01/2018

n/a

DATE_END Date Date in the format of DD/MM/YYYY

Date end Mandatory This field indicates the reporting end date e.g. 31/12/2018

n/a

AREA Double Any number Area of the polygon in hectares.

Mandatory This field indicates the area in hectares.

20

STATUS Text

R1 Rehabilitation commenced (non-certified)

Mandatory

This field relates to the status of the activity in terms of rehabilitation or disturbance.

Polygons which represent areas of disturbance should describe this field as D1 for disturbance.

Polygons which represent

2

R2

Completed rehabilitation (for which progressive certification has not yet been approved in

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/environment/connect#complete_an_annual_return_and

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Field Name Type Allowable

Values Value Description Mandatory

/ Optional Definition Field

Length

accordance with the EP Act)

areas of rehabilitation should describe this field as either R1, R2 or R3 depending on the status of the rehabilitation.

A status of R1 indicates that rehabilitation works have commenced on ground, R2 indicates where rehabilitation has been completed but not certified in accordance with the EP Act or R3 for areas of completed and certified rehabilitation in accordance with the EP Act.

R3

Certified rehabilitation (in accordance with the EP Act)

D1 Disturbance

SOURCE Text

CGWC Coordinate geometry with control

Mandatory

This field identifies the source and the capture methodology for the spatial information provided.

5

Surv Survey

STD Screen tracing or digitising

GPSND GPS Non Differential

ORTHO Ortho Photography

SNK Source not Known

COMMENTS Text Free text Free text Optional

A free text field has been provided to include any additional information the proponent wishes to provide in relation to the data. This field is optional.

255

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Attachment 2 – Annual returns – map requirements

The annual return (question 5) allows proponents to provide disturbance and rehabilitation information as a map. If providing maps as part of the annual return, a minimum of six (6) maps relating to disturbance and rehabilitation are required. Table 1 - Annual return - disturbance and rehabilitation requirements contains an example of the map naming convention using an example submission date of 1 March 2019.

Table 1 - Annual return - disturbance and rehabilitation requirements

Map Spatial information requirement2 Example file name (using submission date of 1 March 2019)

Total disturbance and rehabilitation on site as at the end of the reporting period

1 Total existing area of disturbance on site EPPR00372287_AR_TD_20190119.zip.

2 Total existing area of rehabilitation on site

Map to contain the following

separately identified areas:

Total area of certified rehabilitation Total area of completed rehabilitation Total area of rehabilitation commenced

EPPR00372287_AR_TR_20190119.zip.

Disturbance and rehabilitation completed in the reporting period (2018)

3 Area disturbed during the period EPPR00372287_AR_DA_20190119.zip.

4 Area of rehabilitation during the period


Area of rehabilitation (progressively certified)


Area of rehabilitation commenced

EPPR00372287_AR_RA_20190119.zip.

Disturbance and rehabilitation proposed to be completed in the next year (2019)

5 Area of proposed disturbance EPPR00372287_ AR_PD_20190119.pdf.

6 Area of proposed rehabilitation


Area of additional rehabilitation for which progressive

certification will be sought in the following year

Area of rehabilitation to be completed during the following year

Area of rehabilitation to be commenced in the following year

EPPR00372287_AR_PR_20190119.pdf.

Data type for naming convention

2 Please refer to the annual return approved form for definitions of the disturbance and rehabilitation categories used in this table.

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Table 2 contains the data types for annual returns for use in the file naming convention. Note that data types are

the same for both map and shapefile submissions.

Table 2 - Data types

Data Type Description

TD Total existing disturbance on site

TR Total existing rehabilitation on site

DA Actual disturbance completed in the reporting period (year)

RA Actual rehabilitation completed in the reporting period (year)

PD Proposed disturbance

PR Proposed rehabilitation

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