ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1997 - SECT 76 Authority may require environmental audit

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1997 - SECT 76

    (1)     The authority may by written notice require a person conducting, or proposing to conduct, an activity to commission an environmental audit of the activity and submit a report on the audit to the authority, if the authority has reasonable grounds for believing that—

        (a)     in conducting the activity, the person—

              (i)     has contravened, is contravening or is likely to contravene an environmental authorisation, an environmental protection order or a provision of this Act; or

              (ii)     has breached, is breaching or is likely to breach an environmental protection agreement; and

        (b)     if the person were to conduct the proposed activity, the person may contravene an environmental authorisation, an environmental protection order or a provision of this Act, or may breach an environmental protection agreement; and

        (c)     as a result, serious or material environmental harm has happened, is happening or may happen.

    (2)     The authority may, by written notice, require a person to commission an environmental audit of contaminated land.

    (3)     An auditor must not carry out an audit for subsection (2) if the auditor carried out an assessment or remediation of the land to which the audit relates.

    (4)     A notice under subsection (1) or (2) must—

        (a)     specify the grounds on which the audit is required; and

        (b)     outline the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the grounds; and

        (c)     specify any particular matters that must be addressed in the audit; and

        (d)     specify a date, not earlier than 20 working days after the date of the notice, on or before which the person must submit the auditor's report to the authority; and

        (e)     specify—

              (i)     the fee that must be paid when the auditor's report is submitted; or

              (ii)     the rate at which, or the formula or other method by which, that fee is to be calculated.

    (5)     A person must not fail to comply with a notice under subsection (1) or (2).

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

    (6)     A reference in subsection (1) to "conducting" an activity includes a reference to a variation or proposed variation of how the activity is conducted.