Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Where a sea installation is installed in an adjacent area before the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, the owner of the installation may keep the installation in that area, without a permit being granted, or an exemption certificate being given, for the installation, until:
(a) where an application for a permit or an exemption certificate that would authorise the installation to be kept installed in that area is made within 2 months after the day preceding that day--3 months after the expiration of those 2 months or after the final disposal of that application, whichever occurs last; or
(b) in any other case--5 months after the day preceding that day.
(2) Where the Minister requires that a person referred to in subsection (1) who has made an application under section 20 for a permit, lodge, in connection with that application, an environmental impact statement under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 , within a period specified by the Minister, the Minister is not required to consider the application further unless the person complies with the requirement and:
(a) if the person refuses or fails to comply with the requirement, the person shall be taken to have withdrawn the application on the date on which the person refuses or fails so to comply; or
(b) if the person complies with the requirement, the period commencing when the requirement was made and ending when the Minister declares that the matters to which the statement relates have been fully examined and dealt with in accordance with the provisions of that Act shall be disregarded in the calculation of the period within which the Minister is required to dispose of that application.
(3) Where additional information is required by the Minister in respect of an environmental impact statement under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 , that information shall be sought under that Act and not under this Act.
(4) A person who may, under subsection (1), keep an installation installed in an adjacent area for a particular period, shall not, except in accordance with a permit granted, or an exemption certificate given, under this Act, keep the installation installed in that area after the expiration of that period.
Penalty:
(a) if the person is a natural person--$50,000; or
(b) if the person is a body corporate--$250,000.
(5) For the purpose only of dealing with an application for permission to install a sea installation referred to in subsection (1) in an adjacent area, the Minister may treat that installation as if it had not already been installed.
(6) While a sea installation is being kept installed in an adjacent area under subsection (1), without a permit being granted, or an exemption certificate being given, for the installation, the owner or operator of the installation may:
(a) use the installation, or cause the installation to be used, for an environment related activity permitted by the Minister;
(b) carry out, or allow the carrying out of, environment related work on the installation permitted by the Minister; and
(c) without limiting paragraph (b), in accordance with conditions determined by the Minister, carry out, or allow the carrying out of, work relating to disassembling the installation or to detaching or removing it from its location.