In relatively
recent times, Acid Sulfate Soils (ASS) have been identified as a
significant ecological threat to the New South Wales environment.
The central problem in addressing this threat is acknowledged as
piecemeal policy and regulatory approaches that have failed to successfully
control ASS and the environmental problems associated with them.
This article examines the unique social, scientific and historical
background of ASS, a knowledge of which, it is argued, is a necessary
foundation to any successful regulatory system. Legal systems, both
existing and theoretical, with the potential to regulate ASS are
examined as is the fundamental obstacle of existing use rights under
the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), and are
ultimately compared with the latest Ôwhole of governmentÕ approach
to ASS management in NSW.
