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Statement of Joint Intent (SoJI)

The 1970s and 1980s saw the increasing urbanisation of Hornsby’s sensitive bushland catchments and an influx of tens of thousands of new residents. Sediment runoff from developing and newly developed residential areas and nutrient pollution from sewage treatment plants contributed to the deteriorating quality of local creeks and estuaries.

To force the State Government to see how desperate the situation was, Hornsby Shire Council placed a moratorium on the processing of any development application located within the West Hornsby Sewage Treatment Plant’s catchment area until action was taken.

The strategy worked, and in April 1994 a Statement of Joint Intent (SoJI) was signed between Hornsby Shire Council, NSW Government, Environment Protection Authority, (Sydney) Water Board and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust. The principal intent behind this “community contract” was the ecologically sustainable development of Berowra Creek catchment and recovery of the environmental health of the Creek.