A
greenie in a suit
Donald Cheong
My
job allows me to apply what I learnt in my
BSc(Environmental Biology)/BLaw degree. Most relevantly,
my understanding of the environment, its components, sensitivities
and tolerances allows me to accurately assess the impact of
a proposed project on the environment.
April 12: Quick drop into Cooma headquarters followed by a
1.5 hour drive out to a project site to attend the weekly
progress meeting with the Project Manager and Site Supervisors.
We discussed ongoing environmental management issues focussing
on implementation of environmental controls (eg. sedimentation
controls, general site housekeeping and trench line rehabilitation)
around the work site.
My job as an Environmental Adviser with Snowy
Hydro involves the facilitation of the environmental aspect
of project management. This ranges from:
a. Determining relevant planning approvals, licences and permits
required for the project works;
b. Liaison with regulators and stakeholders;
c. Determination of environmental impacts, risk assessment
and the development of controls to minimise impacts; and
d. Development of site Environmental Management Plans (EMPs).
My attendance at progress meetings allows me to regularly
check that all environmental controls listed in the EMP are
implemented on the ground during the actual works.
My initial exposure to environmental management was with my
work experience at the Environmental
Protection Authority (EPA – now part of the Department
of Environment and Conservation). I’ve always been interested
in learning why things in the environment are the way they
are, from physiology to ecology, and this inspired me to study
Environmental Biology at university. That has led me to the
environmental management career I am in now.
The site where I was assessing how much disturbance will be
caused to the woodland
Written by Donald Cheong - Edited by Catherine Beehag
|
|
