(1) In this Act, unless the context or subject matter otherwise indicates or
requires:
"Bed" , in relation to a river or lake, means the whole of:
(a) the soil or
other matter forming the channel in which the river flows, or
(b) the soil or
other matter forming the bottom of the lake,
and includes so much of the sides
and bottom of the channel or of the shores and bottom of the lake as contain
the river or lake at its mean level (whether or not the river or lake is for
the time being at its mean level), but does not include any part of the sides
or bottom of the channel or of the shores or bottom of the lake covered by
water in times of flooding only.
"Catchment area" means an area in respect of which a notification under
section 20 is, or is deemed to be, in force.
"Catchment committee" means a soil conservation catchment committee
constituted in accordance with section 23A.
"Commissioner" means the person employed in the Public Service as the Soil
Conservation Commissioner.
"Deputy Commissioner" means the person employed in the Public Service as the
Deputy Soil Conservation Commissioner.
"Farming lands" means:
(a) lands used for farming, agricultural,
horticultural, viticultural, vegetable-growing, market gardening, pastoral,
grazing, poultry farming, silvicultural, floricultural or piscicultural
purposes, and
(b) any other lands declared by the regulations to be
farming lands for the purposes of this Act.
"Lake" includes a lagoon, swamp or other collection of still water, whether
permanent or temporary, not being water contained in an artificial work.
"Occupier" , in relation to land, includes a person having the control or
management of the land, whether residing thereon or not.
"Owner" , in relation to land, includes every person who jointly or severally,
whether at law or in equity:
(a) is entitled to the land for any estate of
freehold in possession, or
(b) is a person to whom the Crown has lawfully
contracted to sell the land under the Crown Land Acts or any other Act
relating to the alienation of lands of the Crown, or
(c) is entitled to
receive, or is in receipt of, or if the land were let to a tenant would be
entitled to receive, the rents and profits thereof, whether as beneficial
owner, trustee, mortgagee in possession or otherwise, or
(d) is the holder of
any lease granted under the Crown Land Acts or any other Act relating to the
disposition of lands of the Crown.
"Regulations" means regulations made under this Act.
"River" includes:
(a) a stream of water (whether or not consisting of or
including saline water), whether perennial or intermittent, flowing in a
natural channel, or in a natural channel artificially improved, or in an
artificial channel which has changed the course of the stream, and
(b) an
affluent, confluent, branch or other stream of water (whether or not
consisting of or including saline water) into or from which a stream referred
to in paragraph (a) flows.
"Service" means the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales.
"Tree" includes sapling, shrub and scrub.
"Works" , other than in Part 4, means:
(a) works necessary for the
conservation of soil or the mitigation of erosion and any operations
incidental thereto, or
(b) works necessary for the conservation of water
resources or the provision or improvement of the water supply to farming lands
for domestic or stock purposes, and any operations incidental thereto, not
being the construction or improvement of a bore (within the meaning of the
Farm Water Supplies Act 1946 ).
(2) In this Act, a reference to the
conservation of water resources is a reference to the conservation of water
resources on farming lands, not being water resources concerned primarily with
irrigation and not being sub-surface water resources.
