Waste Management and Pollution Control Act

Environmental duties

Key points

• There is a General Environmental Duty which establishes an environmental ethic
• Codes of Practice will assist in complying with the General Environmental Duty
• There is a duty to report moderate to serious pollution incidents. This is mandatory

The Act creates 2 important duties.

General Environmental Duty

The adoption of environmentally sound work practices needs to be underpinned by an environmental ethic - the General Environmental Duty. This duty requires any person undertaking an activity which causes, or may cause pollution, to take all reasonable steps to minimise the pollution or environmental harm and to reduce the generation of waste.

Although not enforceable in its own right, failure to comply with the General Environmental Duty is likely to result in breaches of the Act such as the offence of causing pollution. Compliance with the General Environmental Duty may also be achieved by issuing a pollution abatement notice.

When deciding how to fulfil the General Environmental Duty a person or company will need to consider the potential for environmental harm resulting from an activity, the sensitivity of the environment into which contaminants or wastes are to be discharged, current technology, and financial implications.

Duty to Notify of Incidents Causing or Threatening to Cause Pollution

A person undertaking an activity must notify the Administering Authority within 24 hours of becoming aware (or from when the person could reasonably be expected to have become aware) of an incident such as a spill which has caused, or is likely to cause, moderate (material) or serious environmental harm.

This duty to notify is mandatory. However, the notification itself can not be used to prosecute a person for any other offence under the Act. The maximum penalties for intentionally failing to notify are up to $50,000 for a person and $250,000 for a company.

Notification can either be made by phone or in writing and sent to the Environment Protection Agency:

By phone: Pollution Hotline Freecall: 1800 06 4567

In writing: Environment Protection Agency Program PO Box 496 PALMERSTON NT 0831 Fax (08) 8924 4053

The notification must include details of:

• the incident;
• the place, date and time of the incident;
• how the pollution occurred, is occurring or may occur;
• any attempts made to deal with the pollution or resultant environmental harm; and
• the contact details of the person notifying

 

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