Published on Thursday, 1 October 2020 at 10:26:33 AM
Katherine Town Council is very pleased with the outcomes of the Performance Agreement it has reached with the NT Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) and believes this has been a win-win for all concerned.
The agreement is seen as being of great benefit to the Katherine Community and enhances transparency between the council and its stakeholders. The NT EPA could have pursued court proceedings against the Katherine Town Council, however, it chose to enter into a Performance Agreement available to it under the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998. The agreement requires Council to develop a number of programs that will address a range of waste management matters and challenges and will make Katherine a more environmentally friendly place to live in. Katherine Town Council has agreed to fund the programs aimed at delivering improved environmental outcomes for the Katherine Region, following a significant fire at the Katherine showgrounds in 2019.
The Performance Agreement between the EPA and KTC outlines the programs that need to be undertaken. These include the ambient air quality monitoring station recently installed at the Sportsgrounds. Katherine is now one of a handful of Northern Territory Communities in possession of an ambient air quality monitoring station which is a significant improvement and benefit to the Katherine Community. The ambient air quality monitoring station is already in operation and KTC will continue to operate and monitor it for a period of three years. Ambient air quality information from the station will shortly be made publicly available. The data from the monitoring station will also be integrated into the NT EPA’s air quality monitoring network.
The waste management strategy outlined in the agreement includes the investigation of waste reduction, resource recovery and recycling, best practice landfill management, improving the environment and public amenity by considering actions to achieve carbon neutrality and reducing litter and illegal dumping. Many of these are underway.
Katherine Town Council is committed to the waste management strategy, the objectives of which include waste reduction, avoidance and re-use, resource recovery and recycling, governance and policy, environment and public amenity, and engagement. The waste management strategy will also be publicly available once completed.
The full report of the agreement that outlines the requirements of the EPA can be found on https://www.katherine.nt.gov.au and on the Environment Protection Authority website.
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