Michael Nicholls 
⚖️ Paying a $55 million settlement does not buy immunity from further federal scrutiny. Alcoa is facing a fresh federal investigation following the unauthorised clearing of 318 hectares of Western Australian jarrah forest.
🚫 Relying on historical PFAS screening criteria just became a major liability for active development sites. The regulatory net for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances has tightened across three separate frameworks simultaneously.
⚡ The end of sequential red tape for major infrastructure and green energy projects in Western Australia is finally here. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has officially launched its new Priority Project Pathway.
🔬 Congratulations to Edith Cowan University for uncovering a chapter of marine history stretching back 10 to 20 million years, right off the Western Australian coast.
🗺️ National consistency for PFAS regulation is currently a myth. A recent legal update from Ashurst has detailed the highly uneven state-level adoption of PFAS NEMP 3.0, which was published at the Commonwealth level in March 2025.
🏗️ Upgrading a legacy industrial site? Regulators are now using your expansion plans to reset your historical operating conditions. The Board of the Environment Protection Authority Tasmania has approved a major expansion at the Massy-Greene Woodchip Mill in South Burnie.
♻️ Congratulations to Veolia and Ventia on launching a significant new treatment pathway for Victoria’s contaminated soils. The new EarthSure soil washing plant at Taylors Road, Dandenong South is officially open.
💧 Greater than 97% removal of the sum of 30 PFAS compounds from sewage wastewater, without relying on heavy filtration media.
📊 Accurate waste data is the foundation of the circular economy, but it requires serious infrastructure to get right. Congratulations to the 12 Tasmanian operators who have just secured a share of $430,000 in state funding to upgrade their reporting capabilities.
🐢 Great to see @EPA Victoria and @CSIRO advancing a new biological approach to PFAS monitoring that could reshape how ecological risk assessments are conducted. Researchers are now using turtles as living indicators in the Murray River, Jacksons Creek, and Darebin Parklands.