Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts4. Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears -
activity means a current or proposed activity and includes a current or proposed process, operation, project, venture or business.
Administering Agency means the Agency for the time being allocated administration of this Act under an Administrative Arrangements Order.
air includes any layer of the atmosphere.
approved means approved in writing by the Chief Executive Officer.
auditor , in relation to an environmental audit program, means a person who carries out an environmental audit for the purposes of the program.
authorised officer means an authorised officer appointed under section 70.
best practice environmental management means the management of an activity or premises in a cost-effective manner that, having regard to national or international practices for management of activities or premises of the same kind, ensures the continued minimisation of the actual or potential environmental impact of the activity or premises.
best practice licence means -
(a) a best practice licence granted under section 34; or
(b) a licence that is to be taken to be a best practice licence by virtue of section 44(6).
Chief Executive Officer means the Chief Executive Officer of the Administering Agency.
code of practice means a code of practice approved under section 13.
compliance plan means a compliance plan approved under section 61.
contaminant means a solid, liquid or gas or any combination of such substances and includes -
(a) noise, odour, heat and electromagnetic radiation;
(b) a prescribed substance or prescribed class of substances; and
(c) a substance having a prescribed property or prescribed class of properties.
ecologically sustainable development means development that improves the total quality of life both in the present and in the future in a way that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends.
environment means land, air, water, organisms and ecosystems and includes -
(a) the well-being of humans;
(b) structures made or modified by humans;
(c) the amenity values of an area; and
(d) economic, cultural and social conditions.
environment protection approval means an approval granted under section 34.
environment protection licence means -
(a) an environment protection licence granted under section 34; or
(b) a licence that is to be taken to be an environment protection licence by virtue of section 44(3).
environmental audit has the meaning given in section 47.
environmental audit program means an environmental audit program specified in a notice under section 48 or an order under section 49.
environmental harm means -
(a) any harm to or adverse effect on the environment; or
(b) any potential harm (including the risk of harm and future harm) to or potential adverse effect on the environment,
of any degree or duration and includes environmental nuisance.
environmental nuisance means -
(a) an adverse effect on the amenity of an area that -
(i) is caused by noise, smoke, dust, fumes or odour; and
(ii) unreasonably interferes with or is likely to unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of the area by persons who occupy a place within the area or are otherwise lawfully in the area; or
(b) an unsightly or offensive condition caused by contaminants or waste.
environment protection objective means an environment protection objective under Part 4 as amended and in force from time to time.
environmental value means a feature of, or a use of, the environment, or of a part of the environment, that is specified in an environment protection objective under section 17(1)(b) as a feature or use to be protected.
holder of an environment protection approval includes a person to whom an environment protection approval has been transferred under section 46.
holder of a licence includes a person to whom a licence has been transferred under section 46.
improvement plan means a plan implementing in stages -
(a) improvements in waste management; or
(b) improvements in the prevention, reduction, control, rectification or clean up of pollution or environmental harm resulting from pollution,
that are consistent with this Act but which are improvements greater than that required by or under this Act.
land includes water and air on, above or under land.
licence means a licence granted under this Act.
listed waste means a waste prescribed for the purposes of this definition.
material environmental harm means environmental harm that -
(a) is not trivial or negligible in nature;
(b) consists of an environmental nuisance of a high impact or on a wide scale;
(c) results, or is likely to result, in not more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater) being spent in taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the environmental harm or rehabilitate the environment; or
(d) results in actual or potential loss or damage to the value of not more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater).
monitoring means an action taken to detect or measure qualitatively or quantitatively the presence or amount of any substance, characteristic or effect.
national environment protection measure means a measure made under section 14(1) of the National Environment Protection Council (Northern Territory) Act .
noise means a vibration of a frequency in the range of 0 to 20,000 Hertz.
occupier means -
(a) in relation to premises - a person who occupies or controls the premises, whether or not he or she owns them; or
(b) where different parts of premises are occupied by different persons, in relation to a part of premises - the person who occupies or controls that part of the premises, whether or not he or she owns the premises,
but does not include a mortgagee in possession of the premises unless the mortgagee assumes active management of some or all activities on the premises.
owner , in relation to premises, does not include a mortgagee in possession of the premises unless the mortgagee assumes active management of some or all activities on the premises.
performance agreement means a performance agreement entered into under section 66.
pollute means -
(a) emit, discharge, deposit, or disturb, directly or indirectly, a contaminant or waste; or
(b) cause, permit, or fail to prevent, directly or indirectly, the emission, discharge, deposition, disturbance or escape of a contaminant or waste.
pollution means -
(a) a contaminant or waste that is emitted, discharged, deposited or disturbed or that escapes; or
(b) a contaminant or waste, effect or phenomenon, that is present in the environment as a consequence of an emission, discharge, deposition, escape or disturbance of a contaminant or waste.
pollution abatement notice means a notice issued under section 77 or 78.
premises includes equipment, plant and structures, whether stationary or portable, and the land on which premises are situated.
re-cycling means the recovery and reprocessing of waste into a new product or base material.
re-use means the treatment of waste without reprocessing so that it may be used again for its original purpose or an alternative purpose.
residential premises , in relation to premises that are used for both residential and non-residential purposes, only includes that part of premises that are used only for residential purposes.
sale includes -
(a) every method of disposition for valuable consideration, including by way of barter;
(b) the disposition to an agent for sale on consignment;
(c) offering for sale or attempting to sell;
(d) receiving or having in possession for sale;
(e) exposing for sale;
(f) sending or delivering for sale;
(g) causing or permitting to be sold, offered or exposed for sale; and
(h) disposal by way of raffle, lottery or other game of chance.
serious environmental harm means environmental harm that is more serious than material environmental harm and includes environmental harm that -
(a) is irreversible or otherwise of a high impact or on a wide scale;
(b) damages an aspect of the environment that is of a high conservation value, high cultural value or high community value or is of special significance;
(c) results or is likely to result in more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater) being spent in taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the environmental harm or rehabilitate the environment; or
(d) results in actual or potential loss or damage to the value of more than $50,000 or the prescribed amount (whichever is greater).
this Act means this Act, the Regulations or an environment protection objective, environment protection approval, environment protection licence, best practice licence, environmental audit program, compliance plan, performance agreement or pollution abatement notice.
vehicle means -
(a) a conveyance or other device designed to be propelled or drawn by any means; or
(b) a device that runs on wheels or tracks (whether or not with motive power), including agricultural machinery, equipment and implements, trailers and caravans,
and includes -
(c) an aircraft within the meaning of the Aerodromes Act ; and
(d) a vessel within the meaning of the Marine Act .
voluntary environmental audit means an environmental audit carried out other than for the purposes of an environmental audit program.
waste means -
(a) a solid, a liquid or a gas; or
(b) a mixture of such substances,
that is or are left over, surplus or an unwanted by-product from any activity (whether or not the substance is of value) and includes a prescribed substance or class of substances.
waste management includes the management of the generation, re-use, re-cycling, storage, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.
water includes -
(a) surface water, ground water and tidal waters;
(b) coastal waters of the Territory, within the meaning of the Coastal Waters (Northern Territory Powers) Act 1980 of the Commonwealth; and
(c) water containing an impurity.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, loss includes the reasonable costs and expenses that would be incurred in taking all reasonable and practicable measures -
(a) to prevent or mitigate pollution or environmental harm arising from pollution; and
(b) to make good environmental damage resulting from pollution.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, environmental harm or environmental damage may be caused by pollution whether the harm or damage -
(a) is caused directly or indirectly or is a direct or indirect result of the pollution; or
(b) results from, or is caused by, the pollution alone or from the combined effects of the pollution and other factors.