Coliban Water’s bid to amend its licence for the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant is temporarily on hold, after Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) called for more information.

Coliban Water submitted its application on 21 March, but EPA Manager, Permissioning, Stephen Adamthwaite says there was not sufficient information on the proposal for EPA to accept the application for assessment.

“The licence assessment process is prescribed in law and requires a detailed assessment of the proposal, any potential effects on the community and environment, and the effectiveness of any safeguards built into it,” Mr Adamthwaite said.

“EPA won’t start the formal process until we have enough information to make a complete assessment,” he said.

The potential project has drawn a lot of interest from the community and EPA is placing strong emphasis on informing and hearing from anyone who might be affected.

“The regulatory process does not specify public consultation on the detail of a licence amendment, but EPA sees feedback as important to ensuring that people understand how it might benefit the community and have a chance to raise any issues before a decision is made,” Mr Adamthwaite said.

EPA will inform the community once the application has been accepted for assessment and is available for public feedback, and there will be more community engagement sessions, with the timing to be set once the application has been formally accepted.