Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has released a guideline outlining how to conduct and assess odour environmental risk assessments (odour ERA) as part of planning permit applications for broiler farms with more than 400,000 birds.
The guideline outlines existing requirements within the Victorian Code for Broiler Farms 2009 (the code) and the State Environment Protection Policy (Air Quality Management) (SEPP (AQM)) to ensure new and expanded broiler farms have minimal odour impacts on nearby residents and communities.
The requirement to submit an odour ERA comes from the code. It involves modelling and analysing odour predictions for a proposed broiler farm to assess the risk of odour impacts beyond the farm boundary.
The guideline provides advice to odour modellers on conducting an odour ERA in accordance with SEPP (AQM) and presenting the results in a clear and consistent way. It also provides advice to responsible authorities on interpreting an odour ERA and deciding whether they indicate an acceptable level of odour risk.
EPA designed the guidelines in consultation with the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources; the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; odour modelling consultants and the Victorian chicken meat industry.