AOA advocacy achieves EPA licence discount for SA processors

Managing Editor

What a great time to be part of the Australian olive industry.

As predicted in my June column, the 2021 harvest has been declared a record: such a sweet reward for our hard-working growers after a couple of very ordinary (understatement!) years.

And it’s not just that there was lots of fruit. Overall it was great quality fruit, and that has translated into a fabulous supply of great quality EVOO - if the early competition results are anything to go by, really great quality EVOO.

So it’s not surprising that the industry’s in a fallback position of positivity and proactivity at present, rolling out marketing and promotional activities, and getting down and dirty with serious improvements to grove, business and sustainability practices.

We’re also getting ready to share more information and inspiration at the annual National Industry Conference, again via Zoom (thanks COVID!) and set to be another great knowledge sharing event.

We cover all of this and more in this edition, so please read, use, sign up and get involved!

Editor Gerri Nelligan and the OG&P team.

The AOA has gone into bat for South Australian olive processors and achieved a great outcome, negotiating a dramatic reduction in Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) licence fees. The new arrangement will see the opportunity to cut base fees by two-thirds of the previous rate, a saving of around $6500 a year for each processor.

SA EPA licensing

Under the EPA’s system of environmental protection activity, there is a range of activities which require a licence to undertake. These include things like wineries, wastewater plants and the processing of agricultural material in quantities above 500T, the category within which olive processing falls.

All businesses undertaking these activities need a licence under the EPA, which incurs an annual fee charged on a fee unit basis. The EPA regulations specifically names olive processors and sets out a compulsory set of 12 fee units, each just under $800. All up then, it’s a significant annual fee.

Also within the regulations under the act are activities which can enable complying businesses to reduce those fees - things like environmental improvements, wastewater treatment plants and woodlots, etc. Previously, however, that opportunity to proactively earn a fee reduction has not existed for olive processors.

AOA request

The AOA was informed of the situation by a South Australian processor and asked to help ‘even the playing field’ for the olive industry. They did so early this year, requesting the minister to allow olive processors the ability to reduce their fees if they were operating sustainably and within their licences.

The Minister listened and acted, providing the opportunity to substantially reduce the base licence fee, from 12 units down to just 4 units a year.

Compliance and sustainability

EPA Senior Environment Protection Officer Tim Gubbin said the base fee reduction is not automatic for all olive processors, however.

“The bottom line is that with any of the listed activities, you need to be compliant with the EPA Regulations. The opportunity to obtain the fee reduction is then an incentive to do even more,” he said.

“The reduction in the base fee can occur when businesses demonstrate they’re operating sustainably - re-using waste water, managing solid waste etc - but if they’re not operating sustainably then they’re not eligible for that fee reduction.

“It’s a waiver at the moment because actually re-writing the Regulations will take a couple of years. That is the intention, however, and in the meantime the Minister is using his discretion to allow this reduction to happen: where everything is being done sustainably and the conditions of the licence are being complied with, a fee reduction will apply.”