Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts56. Prohibition of unlawful construction, &c.
(1) A person shall not, unless authorised by or under this Act, cause, suffer or permit:
(a) a bore to be drilled, constructed, altered, plugged, backfilled or sealed off;
(b) the casing, lining or screen of a bore to be removed, replaced, altered, slotted or repaired;
(c) a bore (whether in the course of construction or not) to be deepened; or
(d) work to be carried out in relation to a bore in respect of which the Administrator has, by notice under section 47, declared that a provision of this Part does not apply, if the work will result in the provision then applying to the bore.
Penalty: For a first offence - $5,000.
For a second or subsequent offence - not less than $5,000 or more than $10,000.
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) if it is proved that:
(a) the work by which it is alleged the offence was committed was urgently required to prevent pollution or deterioration of the water in a bore;
(b) in the circumstances it was not reasonably practicable to apply for a permit under section 57;
(c) as soon as practicable after the work was commenced the Controller was informed of the nature of the work; and
(d) the regulations, if any, relating to work carried out in those circumstances were complied with.