Waste Management and Pollution Control Act
What is the Act all about?
The Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998 arose as the initial action in the development of a Strategy for Waste Management and Pollution Control in the Northern Territory that began in 1995.
The development of the Act enabled:
- The recognition and continued development of current legislative mechanisms where they were appropriate and dealt with environmental matters outside the jurisdictional control of this Office.
- The repeal and where necessary the amalgamation of existing legislative provisions which were overlapping, inconsistent and indeed outdated.
- The establishment of new legislative provisions including the accreditation of national legislation, regulatory powers giving rise to enforcement, licensing and approvals, the development of environmental pollution objectives, auditing and compliance processes and the setting of fees penalties and liabilities.
Most of the provisions (section 3 to 29, & section 47 to 120) of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998 come into operation on 1 February 1999. Part 5 (sections 30 - 46) of the Act dealing with environmental licences and approvals commenced in 1 May 2003. This apparent delay ensured that the appropriate administrative arrangements were in place before licensing commenced.
Section 121 of the Act repeals the Ozone Protection Act and will not commence until pending federal legislation is in place.
Supporting Legislation
The Waste Management and Pollution Control (Administration) Regulations 1998 commenced on 13 January 1999. These regulations deal with administrative issues such as fees for licensing and approvals and payment of "on the spot fines".
The Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1996 commenced on 27 January 1997. The Act was set up to establish penalties for certain offences relating to the protection of the environment, and for related purposes. It relates specifically to sections 83 to 89, which relate to a hierarchy of levels of serious environmental harm and/or material environmental harm with the lowest, environmental offence level 4, relating to environmental nuisance.
How does this affect the Public and what does it mean to me as an individual?
As a community, whether at work or just simply at home, we all create waste and conduct activities that have the potential to pollute our environment. We all need to be vigilant and assist those entrusted with the task of overseeing the environment. There needs to exist a balance between the need for legislation, to enforce appropriate waste management practices and protect against pollution, on the one hand and on the other, to provide the right tools and level of assistance for those wishing to adopt sustainable environmental practices to minimise potential impacts on the environment for the benefits of future generations.
The Northern Territory Waste Management and Pollution Control Act 1998, in meeting a legislative need, has hopefully incorporated the right balance of both regulatory and advisory measures. These are continually being reviewed, amended and redrawn as the need arises to provide professional advise to the public and to take account changes in society invoking where necessary action against those individuals and corporations who fail to heed the consequences of their actions.
Waste management and pollution problems arise from a variety of causes and their potential impacts are as varied as is the circumstances in which they occur. The Act includes a range of tools, which can be used to fix and/or prevent a particular environmental problem. This flexibility ensures that environmental problems can be resolved more cost efficiently, benefiting business and the community alike.
The Act contains three types of tools:
Benchmarks
These can be set covering areas such as air quality, contaminated sites, waste management, noise, recycling and reuse of resources. These will be provided through the development of Environmental Protection Objectives in consultation with business, industry and the community. They may include:
- ambient environment goals and standards;
- waste emission criteria and waste reduction targets;
- environment protection criteria in planning guidelines;
- features or uses of the environment that need to be protected;
- and criteria or indicators to be used for assessing environmental quality.
Control Mechanisms
These can be used to guard against pollution and inappropriate practices. Examples include:
- approvals and licences for facilities and activities with a high environmental risk;
- offences for causing pollution;
- and pollution abatement notices.
Management Mechanisms
These will hopefully encourage best practice environmental management and continuous improvement. Examples include:
- environmental audits;
- Codes of Practice;
- compliance and improvement plans;
- best practice licensing;
- and performance agreements.
All of these tools are designed to encourage continuous improvement in environmental performance while providing strong sanctions against unacceptable practices. Whilst we would prefer to adopt the former approach you are reminded that legislation is enacted for a very good reason and we are all obliged to abide by its requirements.
| You are required to comply with any obligations as stipulated and to carry out all lawful directions given by Authorised Officers empowered under the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act. |
How can I get hold of a copy of the Act?
Hardcopy of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act and all supporting legislation may be purchased from the following offices:
Government Publications Office
203 Stuart Highway
Darwin
Tel: 08 89994031
Community Information Centre
Alice Springs Public Library
Corner Gregory and Leichhardt Terraces
Alice Springs
Tel: 08 89522733
