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Queensland
Great Barrier Reef Protection
Amendment Bill 2009
Queensland
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment
Bill 2009
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Amendment of s 18 (Meaning of environmentally relevant
activity) ..................................... 6
5 Amendment of s 19 (Environmentally relevant activity may be
prescribed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6 Insertion of new ch 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 4A Great Barrier Reef protection measures
Part 1 Preliminary
74 Purpose of ch 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
75 What is an agricultural ERA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
76 Who carries out an agricultural ERA . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
77 Other definitions for ch 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part 2 Requirements for carrying out agricultural
ERAs
Division 1 Fertiliser application requirements
Subdivision 1 Offence
78 Offence about fertiliser application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Subdivision 2 Conditions to prevent over-fertilisation
79 Application of sdiv 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
80 Working out optimum amount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
81 Soil testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
82 Restriction on application of fertiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Division 2 Document requirements
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Contents
Subdivision 1 Documents that must be kept
83 Required record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
84 Obligation to keep relevant primary documents . . . . . 14
Subdivision 2 Production of documents
85 Power to require production of documents . . . . . . . . . 14
86 Offence not to comply with production requirement . . 15
87 Derivative use immunity for production. . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Part 3 Environmental risk management plans
Division 1 General matters
88 When an accredited ERMP is required . . . . . . . . . . . 16
89 When ERMP direction may be given . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
90 Form of ERMP direction and what it may require. . . . 17
91 Public notice of ERMP directions with multiple
recipients .......................... 18
92 Obligations if accredited ERMP required . . . . . . . . . . 18
93 Unaccredited ERMP has no effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Division 2 ERMP content requirements
94 General content requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
95 Exceptions for management plan requirement. . . . . . 20
96 Documents that may make up ERMP . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Division 3 Accreditation of ERMPs
97 Application of div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
98 Request for further information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
99 Deciding whether to accredit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
100 Notice of decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
101 Amended ERMP required if accreditation refused . . . 22
Division 4 Amendment of accredited ERMPs
102 Application of div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
103 Voluntary amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
104 Direction to amend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Division 5 Annual reporting
105 Annual reporting requirement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
7 Amendment of s 320 (Duty to notify environmental harm) . . . . . . 24
8 Amendment of s 346 (Effect of compliance with program). . . . . . 24
9 Amendment of s 358 (When order may be issued) . . . . . . . . . . . 25
10 Replacement of s 363A (Prescribed provisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Page 2
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Contents
363A Prescribed provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
11 Amendment of s 452 (Entry of place--general) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
12 Amendment of s 458 (Order to enter land to conduct
investigation or conduct work) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
13 Amendment of s 490 (Evidentiary provisions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
14 Amendment of s 493A (When environmental harm or related
acts are unlawful) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
15 Amendment of s 520 (Dissatisfied person) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
16 Amendment of s 538 (Appeals may be heard with planning
appeals) .................................... 27
17 Amendment of s 540 (Required registers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
18 Insertion of new ch 13, pt 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Part 13 Transitional provisions for Great Barrier Reef
Protection Amendment Act 2009
657 Deferral of automatic ERMP requirement for existing
agricultural ERAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
658 Provision for appeals for ch 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
19 Amendment of sch 2 (Original decisions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
20 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Part 3 Amendment of Integrated Planning Act 1997
21 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
22 Amendment of s 1.3.5 (Definitions for terms used in
development) ................................ 31
23 Amendment of sch 8 (Assessable development and
self-assessable development) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
24 Amendment of sch 10 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Page 3
2009
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and
the Integrated Planning Act 1997 for particular purposes
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Clause 1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Great Barrier Reef Protection 4
Amendment Act 2009. 5
Clause 2 Commencement 6
This Act, other than section 19, commences on a day to be 7
fixed by proclamation. 8
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental 9
Protection Act 1994 10
Clause 3 Act amended 11
This part amends the Environmental Protection Act 1994. 12
Clause 4 Amendment of s 18 (Meaning of environmentally relevant 13
activity) 14
(1) Section 18(c)-- 15
renumber as section 18(d). 16
(2) Section 18(a) and (b)-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(a) an agricultural ERA as defined under section 75; or 19
Page 6
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 5]
(b) a mining activity as defined under section 147; or 1
(c) a chapter 5A activity as defined under section 309A; or'. 2
Clause 5 Amendment of s 19 (Environmentally relevant activity 3
may be prescribed) 4
Section 19, `a mining activity or chapter 5A activity'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`an agricultural ERA, a mining activity or a chapter 5A 7
activity'. 8
Clause 6 Insertion of new ch 4A 9
After section 73T-- 10
insert-- 11
`Chapter 4A Great Barrier Reef 12
protection measures 13
`Part 1 Preliminary 14
`74 Purpose of ch 4A 15
`The purpose of this chapter is to-- 16
(a) reduce the impact of agricultural activities on the quality 17
of water entering the reef; and 18
(b) contribute to achieving the targets about water quality 19
improvement for the reef under agreements between the 20
State and the Commonwealth from time to time. 21
Note-- 22
At the commencement of this section the current agreement was 23
the `Reef Water Quality Protection Plan: For catchments 24
adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area October 25
2003'. 26
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`75 What is an agricultural ERA 1
`(1) An activity is an agricultural ERA if-- 2
(a) it is-- 3
(i) commercial sugar cane growing; or 4
(ii) cattle grazing carried out on an agricultural 5
property carrying more than 100 standard cattle 6
units; and 7
(b) it is carried out on an agricultural property in 1 or more 8
of the following catchments (each a priority 9
catchment)-- 10
(i) the Wet Tropics catchment; 11
(ii) the Mackay-Whitsunday catchment; 12
(iii) the Burdekin dry tropics catchment. 13
`(2) However, if only part of the agricultural property is in 1 or 14
more of the priority catchments, the activity is only an 15
agricultural ERA if-- 16
(a) more than 75% of the lot on which it is carried out is in 17
1 or more of the priority catchments; or 18
(b) the part of the lot within 1 or more of the priority 19
catchments is more than 20000ha. 20
`(3) For subsection (1)(b), the priority catchments-- 21
(a) are identified on the map held by the department called 22
`Map of Great Barrier Reef Catchments covered by the 23
Queensland Government Reef Protection Package', 24
Map No. g090514-01; but 25
Editor's note-- 26
At the commencement of this section the map was available for 27
inspection on the department's website at 28
. 29
(b) also include any other land prescribed under a 30
regulation. 31
`(4) A regulation may be made under subsection (3)(b) only if-- 32
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(a) the other land forms part of an agricultural property that 1
is only partly within any of the catchments identified on 2
the map; and 3
(b) each priority catchment will, after the making of the 4
regulation, be a contiguous parcel of land. 5
`(5) In this section-- 6
lot means-- 7
(a) a lot under the Land Title Act 1994; or 8
(b) a separate, distinct parcel of land for which an interest is 9
recorded in a register under the Land Act 1994. 10
standard cattle units means units of measurement based on 11
the live weight of cattle as follows-- 12
Live weight of head (kg) Number of
standard
cattle units
up to 350 0.67
more than 350 to 400 0.74
more than 400 to 450 0.81
more than 450 to 500 0.87
more than 500 to 550 0.94
more than 550 to 600 1.00
more than 600 to 650 1.06
more than 650 to 700 1.12
more than 700 1.18.
`76 Who carries out an agricultural ERA 13
`A person carries out an agricultural ERA only if the 14
person-- 15
(a) carries it out personally; or 16
(b) employs or engages someone else to carry it out on the 17
person's behalf. 18
Page 9
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`77 Other definitions for ch 4A 1
`In this chapter-- 2
accredited, for an ERMP, means accredited under part 3. 3
agricultural chemicals means agricultural chemical products, 4
as defined under the Agvet Code of Queensland applying 5
under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals 6
(Queensland) Act 1994. 7
agricultural ERA record see section 83(1)(a). 8
agricultural property means a parcel or parcels of land, 9
managed as one unit to carry out an agricultural activity. 10
cattle includes-- 11
(a) beef and dairy cattle; and 12
(b) cattle of all ages. 13
ERMP means environmental risk management plan. 14
ERMP direction see section 88(b). 15
optimum amount, for the application of nitrogen and 16
phosphorus to soil on an agricultural property, means the 17
highest amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that can be 18
applied without over-fertilising the property. 19
over-fertilisation, of an agricultural property, means that 20
fertiliser has been applied to soil on the property at above the 21
needs of the plants being or to be fertilised. 22
priority catchment see section 75(1)(b). 23
production requirement see section 85(1). 24
reef means the Great Barrier Reef. 25
relevant agricultural property for-- 26
(a) a provision about an agricultural ERA--means the 27
agricultural property on which the agricultural ERA is 28
carried out; or 29
(b) a provision about an ERMP--means the agricultural 30
property on which the agricultural ERA the subject of 31
the ERMP is carried out. 32
Page 10
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
relevant primary documents, for an agricultural ERA record, 1
see section 84(2). 2
sugar cane growing means a system for growing sugar cane, 3
whether or not it includes the rotation of other crops. 4
`Part 2 Requirements for carrying out 5
agricultural ERAs 6
`Division 1 Fertiliser application requirements 7
`Subdivision 1 Offence 8
`78 Offence about fertiliser application 9
`A person who carries out an agricultural ERA must not apply 10
nitrogen or phosphorus to soil on the relevant agricultural 11
property unless-- 12
(a) all of the conditions under subdivision 2 have been 13
complied with; or 14
(b) the person has an accredited ERMP for the agricultural 15
ERA and the ERMP-- 16
(i) provides for an alternative procedure to prevent 17
over-fertilisation of the property; and 18
(ii) states that the procedure is an alternative to 19
compliance with the conditions. 20
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 21
Note-- 22
Noncompliance with an accredited ERMP is not, in itself, an offence. 23
However, the noncompliance may be the subject of a direction notice. 24
See section 363B. 25
Page 11
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`Subdivision 2 Conditions to prevent 1
over-fertilisation 2
`79 Application of sdiv 2 3
`This subdivision applies to a person carrying out an 4
agricultural ERA. 5
`80 Working out optimum amount 6
`(1) The person must work out the optimum amount of nitrogen 7
and phosphorus that can be applied to soil on the relevant 8
agricultural property. 9
`(2) The working out must use the results of soil tests required 10
under section 81. 11
`(3) A regulation may prescribe a methodology for working out 12
the optimum amount. 13
`(4) If a prescribed methodology applies for the application of 14
nitrogen or phosphorus to soil on the property, the optimum 15
amount must be worked out under the methodology. 16
`81 Soil testing 17
`(1) The person must cause-- 18
(a) soil tests of the relevant agricultural property to be 19
carried out to test the characteristics of the soil to allow 20
the optimum amount to be worked out; and 21
(b) reports to be prepared for each of the tests that shows its 22
results. 23
`(2) The tests and the reports must be carried out or prepared by a 24
person with appropriate experience or qualifications. 25
`(3) A regulation may prescribe-- 26
(a) the intervals at which the tests must be carried out; and 27
Page 12
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(b) a methodology for carrying out the tests. 1
`(4) The carrying out of the tests must comply with the regulation. 2
`82 Restriction on application of fertiliser 3
`Fertiliser containing nitrogen or phosphorus must not be 4
applied to soil on the relevant agricultural property at more 5
than the optimum rate. 6
`Division 2 Document requirements 7
`Subdivision 1 Documents that must be kept 8
`83 Required record 9
`(1) A person who carries out an agricultural ERA must unless the 10
person has a reasonable excuse-- 11
(a) make or cause to be made within the required period a 12
record (an agricultural ERA record) in the approved 13
form about the matters mentioned in subsection (2); and 14
(b) keep the record for at least 5 years. 15
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 16
`(2) For subsection (1)(a) the matters are all of the following-- 17
(a) any of the following applied on the relevant agricultural 18
property-- 19
(i) agricultural chemicals; 20
(ii) fertilisers; 21
(iii) soil conditioners; 22
(b) soil test reports prepared under section 81; 23
(c) optimum amounts worked out under section 80; 24
Page 13
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(d) if the agricultural ERA is cattle grazing--the stocking 1
rate at the start of each financial year and any change to 2
that rate; 3
(e) any other matter prescribed under a regulation. 4
`(3) In this section-- 5
required period means within 10 business days after-- 6
(a) generally--the happening of the event mentioned in 7
subsection (2) for which the record must be made; or 8
(b) for the stocking rate at the start of a financial year--the 9
start of that year. 10
`84 Obligation to keep relevant primary documents 11
`(1) A person who makes an agricultural ERA record must keep 12
all relevant primary documents for the record for at least 5 13
years after making it unless the person has a reasonable 14
excuse. 15
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 16
`(2) The relevant primary documents, for an agricultural ERA 17
record, are-- 18
(a) documents relating to the carrying out of the agricultural 19
ERA the subject of the record from which information 20
in the record was obtained; and 21
Example-- 22
invoices for the purchase of fertiliser 23
(b) soil test reports mentioned in the record. 24
`Subdivision 2 Production of documents 25
`85 Power to require production of documents 26
`(1) An authorised person may, by written notice, require (a 27
production requirement) a person carrying out an agricultural 28
Page 14
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
ERA (the operator) to produce to the authorised person for 1
inspection within 10 business days-- 2
(a) the operator's current agricultural ERA records; or 3
(b) the relevant primary documents for the records. 4
`(2) A production requirement may be for-- 5
(a) all of the operator's current agricultural ERA records; or 6
(b) the operator's current agricultural ERA records for a 7
stated period; or 8
(c) a stated current agricultural ERA record of the operator. 9
`(3) If the record or document produced is a hard copy, the 10
authorised person-- 11
(a) may keep the record or document to take an extract 12
from, or make a copy of, it; but 13
(b) must return it to the operator as soon as practicable after 14
taking the extract or making the copy. 15
`(4) This section does not limit section 466. 16
`(5) In this section-- 17
current agricultural ERA records, for the operator, means 18
any of the operator's agricultural ERA records that are still 19
subject to the requirement under section 83(1)(b). 20
`86 Offence not to comply with production requirement 21
`A person of whom a production requirement has been made 22
must comply with the requirement unless the person has a 23
reasonable excuse. 24
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 25
`87 Derivative use immunity for production 26
`(1) It is not a defence to a proceeding for an offence against 27
section 86 that the relevant document contains information 28
that might tend to incriminate the defendant. 29
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`(2) However, if the defendant is an individual, incriminating 1
evidence is not admissible in evidence against the defendant 2
in a civil or criminal proceeding. 3
`(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a proceeding for an offence 4
for which the falsity or misleading nature of the relevant 5
document is relevant. 6
`(4) In this section-- 7
incriminating evidence means evidence of, or evidence 8
directly or indirectly derived from a relevant document or 9
information it contains that might tend to incriminate the 10
defendant. 11
relevant document means a record, or a relevant primary 12
document for a record, the subject of the relevant document 13
production requirement. 14
`Part 3 Environmental risk 15
management plans 16
`Division 1 General matters 17
`88 When an accredited ERMP is required 18
`A person who carries out an agricultural ERA must have an 19
accredited ERMP for the agricultural ERA if-- 20
(a) it consists of-- 21
(i) sugar cane growing on more than 70ha in the Wet 22
Tropics catchment under section 75; or 23
(ii) cattle grazing on more than 2000ha in the Burdekin 24
dry tropics catchment under section 75; or 25
Note-- 26
See however section 657 (Deferral of automatic ERMP 27
requirement for existing agricultural ERAs). 28
Page 16
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(b) the person is the recipient of a direction given under this 1
division (an ERMP direction). 2
Note-- 3
An ERMP may also be voluntarily submitted for accreditation. See 4
section 97. 5
`89 When ERMP direction may be given 6
`The Minister may give a person carrying out an agricultural 7
ERA an ERMP direction only if-- 8
(a) the Minister considers an ERMP is necessary or 9
desirable-- 10
(i) to improve the quality of water being released from 11
the relevant agricultural property; or 12
(ii) because the agricultural ERA is causing or may 13
cause unlawful environmental harm; and 14
(b) the direction complies with section 90; and 15
(c) if it has more than 1 recipient--section 91 is complied 16
with. 17
`90 Form of ERMP direction and what it may require 18
`(1) An ERMP direction must-- 19
(a) be written; and 20
(b) identify the recipient; and 21
(c) state each of the following-- 22
(i) the agricultural ERA for which an ERMP is 23
required; 24
(ii) the relevant agricultural property; 25
(iii) the recipient's obligations under section 92; 26
(iv) that it is an offence for the recipient not to comply 27
with the obligations under section 92 unless the 28
recipient has a reasonable excuse; 29
Page 17
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(v) the maximum penalty for the offence; and 1
(d) be accompanied by or include an information notice 2
about the decision to give the direction. 3
`(2) Despite section 92, an ERMP direction may provide that the 4
ERMP need not include the matters mentioned in section 5
94(d). 6
`(3) An ERMP direction may require the recipient to include in the 7
ERMP any matter that the Minister reasonably considers is 8
necessary or desirable to reduce the impact of the agricultural 9
ERA on the quality of water entering the reef. 10
`91 Public notice of ERMP directions with multiple 11
recipients 12
`(1) This section applies if an ERMP direction has more than 1 13
recipient. 14
`(2) As well as giving the ERMP direction to each of the recipients 15
individually, the Minister must also publish it in a modified 16
form-- 17
(a) in a newspaper circulating generally in the State; and 18
(b) in another newspaper published generally in the relevant 19
priority catchment. 20
`(3) The modified form-- 21
(a) must not include any of the recipient's names; but 22
(b) must include enough detail about the area or a type of 23
agricultural ERA to which the ERMP direction applies 24
to allow each recipient to be aware that it applies to 25
them. 26
`92 Obligations if accredited ERMP required 27
`If, under section 88, a person must have an accredited ERMP, 28
the person must unless the person has a reasonable excuse-- 29
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(a) prepare, for the person's agricultural ERA, an ERMP 1
that complies with the requirements under division 2 2
(the ERMP content requirements); and 3
(b) within 3 months submit it to the administering authority 4
for accreditation. 5
Maximum penalty--300 penalty units. 6
`93 Unaccredited ERMP has no effect 7
`Other than for the purpose of submission to seek 8
accreditation, an ERMP has no effect unless it has been 9
accredited. 10
`Division 2 ERMP content requirements 11
`94 General content requirements 12
`An ERMP must-- 13
(a) state each of the following-- 14
(i) the person who prepared it; 15
(ii) the agricultural ERA the subject of the ERMP; 16
(iii) the person carrying out the agricultural ERA; 17
(iv) a description of the relevant agricultural property; 18
(v) the period for which the ERMP applies; and 19
(b) identify any hazards of the property that may cause the 20
release of contaminants into water entering the reef; and 21
Examples of things that may be a hazard-- 22
· the application of fertiliser or agricultural chemicals 23
· erosion zones 24
· low levels of ground cover 25
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(c) include measurable targets and performance indicators 1
for improving the quality of water being discharged 2
from the property; and 3
(d) subject to sections 90(2) and 95, include a management 4
plan for the agricultural ERA that provides for the 5
management of-- 6
(i) the application of agricultural chemicals on the 7
property; and 8
(ii) nutrients applied to soil on the property; and 9
(iii) sediment loss from the property, including the 10
management of ground cover and erosion zones to 11
prevent sediment loss; and 12
(e) if an ERMP direction has been given--provide for any 13
matter that, under section 90(3), must be included in the 14
ERMP; and 15
(f) provide for any matter that is reasonably necessary to 16
reduce the impact of the agricultural ERA on the quality 17
of water entering the reef; and 18
(g) any other matter prescribed under an environmental 19
protection policy or a regulation. 20
`95 Exceptions for management plan requirement 21
`(1) Section 94(d)(i) does not apply if the person carrying out the 22
agricultural ERA has been certified as an organic operator by 23
the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service. 24
`(2) If the agricultural ERA the subject of the ERMP is cattle 25
grazing, section 94(d)(ii) only applies for pastures on the 26
relevant agricultural property that are to be fertilised. 27
`96 Documents that may make up ERMP 28
`(1) The ERMP content requirements may be complied with in 29
any number of documents or by incorporating the provisions 30
of other documents into the ERMP. 31
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`(2) The documents may be documents prepared for another 1
purpose. 2
`(3) An ERMP need not be called an environmental risk 3
management plan. 4
Example for section 96-- 5
A person carrying out an agricultural ERA will comply with the ERMP 6
content requirements if-- 7
(a) for good business practice, the person prepares a document called a 8
`farm management system' that includes an environmental 9
management component; and 10
(b) the component consists of a land management agreement under the 11
Land Act 1994 and other documents; and 12
(c) the agreement and the other documents, when read together, 13
comply with the ERMP content requirements, but they are not 14
identified as an ERMP; and 15
(d) the person submits the component for accreditation as an ERMP. 16
`Division 3 Accreditation of ERMPs 17
`97 Application of div 3 18
`This division applies if a person has submitted an ERMP to 19
the administering authority for accreditation, whether or not 20
the person was required to do so under section 92. 21
`98 Request for further information 22
`The administering authority may, by written notice, ask the 23
person to give the authority further information or documents 24
about the ERMP content requirements by the reasonable date 25
stated in the notice. 26
`99 Deciding whether to accredit 27
`(1) The administering authority must decide to accredit or refuse 28
to accredit the ERMP-- 29
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Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
(a) if additional information is not required--within 60 1
business days after receiving the ERMP; or 2
(b) if additional information is required--within 60 3
business days after the information is received or should 4
have been given, whichever is earlier. 5
`(2) The administering authority may decide to accredit the ERMP 6
only if the authority is satisfied it complies with the ERMP 7
content requirements. 8
`100 Notice of decision 9
`Within 10 business days after making the decision, the 10
administering authority must give the person-- 11
(a) if the decision is to accredit--a written notice of the 12
decision; or 13
(b) if the decision is to refuse to accredit--an information 14
notice about the decision. 15
`101 Amended ERMP required if accreditation refused 16
`(1) If the decision is to refuse to accredit, the person must-- 17
(a) amend the ERMP to address the reasons for the 18
decision; and 19
(b) within 20 business days after receiving notice of the 20
decision or of any extended period under subsection (2), 21
give the administering authority the amended ERMP. 22
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 23
`(2) The administering authority may extend the period of 20 24
business days mentioned in subsection (1). 25
`(3) This division applies to the amended ERMP-- 26
(a) as if a reference to the ERMP were a reference to the 27
amended ERMP; and 28
(b) with other necessary changes. 29
Page 22
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 6]
`Division 4 Amendment of accredited ERMPs 1
`102 Application of div 4 2
`This division applies to a person carrying out an agricultural 3
ERA for which there is an accredited ERMP. 4
`103 Voluntary amendment 5
`(1) The person may at any time-- 6
(a) amend the ERMP; and 7
(b) submit it to the administering authority for 8
accreditation. 9
`(2) Division 3 applies to the amended ERMP-- 10
(a) as if a reference to the ERMP were a reference to the 11
amended ERMP; and 12
(b) as if a reference to accreditation of an ERMP were a 13
reference to accreditation of the amended ERMP; and 14
(c) with other necessary changes. 15
`104 Direction to amend 16
`(1) This section applies if the administering authority considers it 17
is necessary or desirable to amend the ERMP-- 18
(a) because it no longer complies with ERMP content 19
requirements; or 20
(b) to improve the quality of water being discharged from 21
the relevant agricultural property; or 22
(c) because the agricultural ERA the subject of the ERMP 23
is causing or may cause unlawful environmental harm. 24
`(2) The administering authority may give the person carrying out 25
the agricultural ERA a written direction to-- 26
(a) amend the ERMP in a stated way so as to comply with 27
ERMP content requirements; and 28
Page 23
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 7]
(b) within 3 months submit it to the administering authority 1
for accreditation. 2
`(3) Divisions 1 to 3 apply-- 3
(a) as if the direction were an ERMP direction; and 4
(b) as if a reference to an ERMP were a reference to the 5
amended ERMP; and 6
(c) as if a reference to accreditation of an ERMP were a 7
reference to accreditation of the amended ERMP; and 8
(d) with other necessary changes. 9
`Division 5 Annual reporting 10
`105 Annual reporting requirement 11
`(1) This section applies to a person carrying out an agricultural 12
ERA for which there is an accredited ERMP. 13
`(2) The person must, within 2 months after the end of each 14
financial year, give the administering authority an annual 15
report in the approved form about the implementation of the 16
ERMP unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 17
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.'. 18
Clause 7 Amendment of s 320 (Duty to notify environmental harm) 19
Section 320(2)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(g) an accredited ERMP.'. 22
Clause 8 Amendment of s 346 (Effect of compliance with program) 23
Section 346(2) and (3)-- 24
insert-- 25
`(f) an accredited ERMP.'. 26
Page 24
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 9]
Clause 9 Amendment of s 358 (When order may be issued) 1
Section 358(d)-- 2
insert-- 3
`(x) an accredited ERMP.'. 4
Clause 10 Replacement of s 363A (Prescribed provisions) 5
Section 363A-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`363A Prescribed provisions 8
`(1) This part provides for a direction notice to be issued for a 9
contravention of any of the following (each of which is a 10
prescribed provision)-- 11
(a) section 440, 440Q or 440ZG; 12
Editor's note-- 13
section 440 (Offence of causing environmental nuisance), 440Q 14
(Offence of contravening a noise standard) or 440ZG (Depositing 15
prescribed water contaminants in waters and related matters) 16
(b) a provision of an accredited ERMP for an agricultural 17
ERA. 18
`(2) However, a provision of the accredited ERMP is a prescribed 19
provision only if the person contravening the provision is the 20
person carrying out the agricultural ERA. 21
Note-- 22
If there is a transitional environmental program for the activity, see 23
section 346 (Effect of compliance with program).'. 24
Clause 11 Amendment of s 452 (Entry of place--general) 25
Section 452(1)(ca), after `to which'-- 26
insert-- 27
`an agricultural ERA,'. 28
Page 25
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 12]
Clause 12 Amendment of s 458 (Order to enter land to conduct 1
investigation or conduct work) 2
Section 458(1)(a)(iii)(A), after `an'-- 3
insert-- 4
`accredited ERMP,'. 5
Clause 13 Amendment of s 490 (Evidentiary provisions) 6
(1) Section 490(5)(a), after `report,'-- 7
insert-- 8
`accredited ERMP,'. 9
(2) Section 490(5)(c), after `an'-- 10
insert-- 11
`accredited ERMP,'. 12
Clause 14 Amendment of s 493A (When environmental harm or 13
related acts are unlawful) 14
(1) Section 493A(5)-- 15
renumber as section 493A(6). 16
(2) Section 493A(4)-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`(4) The defendant is taken to have complied with the general 19
environmental duty if the defendant proves-- 20
(a) an accredited ERMP applied to the doing of the relevant 21
act; and 22
(b) to the extent it is relevant, the defendant complied with 23
the ERMP. 24
`(5) The defendant is also taken to have complied with the general 25
environmental duty if the defendant proves-- 26
(a) an approved code of practice applied to the doing of the 27
relevant act; and 28
Page 26
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 15]
(b) to the extent it is relevant, the defendant complied with 1
the code; and 2
(c) no accredited ERMP applied to the doing of the relevant 3
act.'. 4
Clause 15 Amendment of s 520 (Dissatisfied person) 5
(1) Section 520(1)-- 6
insert-- 7
`(aa) if the decision is to refuse to accredit an ERMP, the 8
person who submitted it; or'. 9
(2) Section 520(1)(f), after `an'-- 10
insert-- 11
`ERMP direction,'. 12
Clause 16 Amendment of s 538 (Appeals may be heard with 13
planning appeals) 14
(1) Section 538(1)(a), after `registration certificate'-- 15
insert-- 16
`or to accredit an ERMP'. 17
(2) Section 538(1)(b), `which the certificate'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`which the certificate or the ERMP'. 20
Clause 17 Amendment of s 540 (Required registers) 21
(1) Section 540(1)(e) to (t)-- 22
renumber as section 540 (1)(f) to (u). 23
(2) Section 540(1)-- 24
insert-- 25
`(e) in relation to chapter 4A-- 26
Page 27
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 18]
(i) ERMP directions; and 1
(ii) accredited ERMPs;'. 2
Clause 18 Insertion of new ch 13, pt 13 3
Chapter 13-- 4
insert-- 5
`Part 13 Transitional provisions for 6
Great Barrier Reef Protection 7
Amendment Act 2009 8
`657 Deferral of automatic ERMP requirement for existing 9
agricultural ERAs 10
`Section 88(a) does not apply to an agricultural ERA carried 11
out before the commencement of this section until 6 months 12
after the commencement. 13
`658 Provision for appeals for ch 4 14
`The Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Act 2009, 15
section 19(2) is taken to have had effect from 23 February 16
2009.'. 17
Clause 19 Amendment of sch 2 (Original decisions) 18
(1) Schedule 2, part 1, division 2-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`Division 2 Decisions under chapter 4A 21
Section Description of decision
89 decision to give ERMP direction
99 decision to refuse to accredit ERMP'.
Page 28
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 20]
(2) Schedule 2, part 2-- 1
insert-- 2
`Division 1A Decisions under chapter 4 3
Section Description of decision
73E refusal to grant an application for registration
73F refusal to grant a single registration certificate
73FA decision to cancel a single registration certificate for
activities and issue 2 or more registration certificates for
the activities
73L decision to cancel or suspend registration
73O(3) decision to refuse surrender of registration certificate'.
(3) Schedule 2, part 2, division 3-- 4
relocate and renumber as schedule 2, part 1, division 3A. 5
Clause 20 Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary) 6
(1) Schedule 4-- 7
insert-- 8
`accredited, for an ERMP, see section 77. 9
agricultural chemicals see section 77. 10
agricultural ERA see section 75. 11
agricultural ERA record see section 83(1)(a). 12
agricultural property see section 77. 13
carries out, an agricultural ERA, see section 76. 14
cattle see section 77. 15
ERMP see section 77. 16
ERMP content requirements see section 92(a). 17
Page 29
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 2 Amendment of Environmental Protection Act 1994
[s 20]
ERMP direction see section 88(b). 1
optimum amount, for the application of nitrogen and 2
phosphorus to soil on an agricultural property, see section 77. 3
over-fertilisation, of an agricultural property, see section 77. 4
priority catchment see section 75(1)(b). 5
production requirement see section 85(1). 6
reef see section 77. 7
relevant agricultural property see section 77. 8
relevant primary documents, for an agricultural ERA record, 9
see section 84(2). 10
sugar cane growing see section 77.'. 11
(2) Schedule 4, definition chapter 4 activity, `a mining activity or 12
a chapter 5A activity'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`an agricultural ERA, a mining activity or a chapter 5A 15
activity'. 16
(3) Schedule 4, definition contaminated land register, `section 17
540(1)(f)(ii)'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`section 540(1)(h)(ii)'. 20
(4) Schedule 4, definition environmental management register, 21
`section 540(1)(f)(i)'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`section 540(1)(h)(i)'. 24
(5) Schedule 4, definition recipient, paragraph (c)-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`(c) for an ERMP direction, direction notice, clean-up notice 27
or cost recovery notice--the person to whom the 28
direction or notice is issued; or'. 29
Page 30
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 3 Amendment of Integrated Planning Act 1997
[s 21]
Part 3 Amendment of Integrated 1
Planning Act 1997 2
Clause 21 Act amended 3
This part amends the Integrated Planning Act 1997. 4
Clause 22 Amendment of s 1.3.5 (Definitions for terms used in 5
development) 6
Section 1.3.5(1), definition material change of use, paragraph 7
(b), after `(other than for'-- 8
insert-- 9
`an agricultural ERA,'. 10
Clause 23 Amendment of sch 8 (Assessable development and 11
self-assessable development) 12
(1) Schedule 8, part 1, table 2, item 1, paragraphs (a) to (e)-- 13
renumber as paragraphs (b) to (f). 14
(2) Schedule 8, part 1, table 2, item 1-- 15
insert-- 16
`(a) an agricultural ERA; or'. 17
(3) Schedule 8, part 1, table 5, item 4, after `(other than'-- 18
insert-- 19
`an agricultural ERA,'. 20
(4) Schedule 8, part 2, table 5, item 1, paragraphs (a) to (c)-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`(a) an agricultural ERA; or 23
(b) a mining activity; or 24
(c) a chapter 5A activity; or 25
Page 31
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Part 3 Amendment of Integrated Planning Act 1997
[s 24]
(d) a mobile and temporary environmentally relevant 1
activity.'. 2
Clause 24 Amendment of sch 10 (Dictionary) 3
(1) Schedule 10-- 4
insert-- 5
`agricultural ERA see the Environmental Protection Act 6
1994, section 75.'. 7
(2) Schedule 10, definition specified activity, paragraph (c), `a 8
mining activity'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`an agricultural ERA, a mining activity'. 11
12
© State of Queensland 2009
Page 32
AMENDMENTS TO BILL
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment
Bill 2009
Amendments agreed to during Consideration
1 Amendment of long title--
Page 5, long title, from `amend' to `purposes'--
omit, insert--
`amend the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary)
Control Act 1988, the Environmental Protection Act 1994,
the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and the Sustainable
Planning Act 2009 for particular purposes'.
2 After clause 2--
Page 6, after line 8--
insert--
`Part 1A Amendment of Chemical Usage
(Agricultural and Veterinary)
Control Act 1988
`2A Act amended
`This part amends the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and
Veterinary) Control Act 1988.
`2B Insertion of new pt 2, div 3, sdiv 1 and sdiv 2 hdg
`Part 2, division 3, after division 3 heading--
insert--
`Subdivision 1 Preliminary
Page 1
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
`12W Definitions for div 3
`In this division--
agricultural ERA see the Environmental Protection Act 1994,
section 75.
carrying out, an agricultural ERA, has the same meaning as
carrying out an agricultural ERA under the Environmental
Protection Act 1994.
preparing, for a prescribed agricultural ERA product, means
mixing the product or using it for testing.
prescribed agricultural ERA conditions, for a prescribed
agricultural ERA product, means the conditions prescribed for
using, preparing, storing or possessing the product under
section 13C(1)(b).
prescribed agricultural ERA product means an agricultural
chemical product prescribed under section 13C(1)(a).
`Subdivision 2 General provisions'.
`2C Amendment of s 13A (Use of unregistered agricultural
chemical products)
`Section 13A(3)--
insert--
`(e) if the offence relates to the use of a prescribed agricultural
ERA product for carrying out an agricultural ERA--the
defendant's use of the product complied with the prescribed
agricultural ERA conditions for the product.'.
`2D Insertion of new pt 2, div 3, sdiv 3
`Part 2, division 3, after section 13B--
insert--
`Subdivision 3 Great Barrier Reef protection
measures
Page 2
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
`13C Prescribed agricultural ERA products and conditions
`(1) A regulation may--
(a) declare an agricultural chemical product to be a
prescribed agricultural ERA product; and
(b) prescribe conditions for using, preparing, storing and
possessing the product for carrying out an agricultural
ERA.
`(2) However, a regulation may be made under subsection (1) only
if the Minister considers it is necessary or desirable to help
achieve the purpose of the Environmental Protection Act
1994, chapter 4A.
Editor's note--
Environmental Protection Act 1994, chapter 4A (Great Barrier Reef
protection measures), section 74 (Purpose of ch 4A)
`(3) To remove any doubt, it is declared that an agricultural
chemical product may be declared as a prescribed agricultural
ERA product under subsection (1)(a) and conditions may be
prescribed for the product under subsection (1)(b) whether or
not the product is a registered agricultural chemical product.
`13D Compliance with prescribed agricultural ERA condition
`(1) A person uses, prepares, stores or possesses a prescribed
agricultural ERA product for carrying out an agricultural ERA
in compliance with a prescribed agricultural ERA condition
for the product only if--
(a) the use, preparation, storage or possession of the
product complies with the condition; or
(b) the person uses, prepares, stores or possesses the
product in an alternative way and each of the following
applies--
(i) the person has an accredited ERMP for the
agricultural ERA;
(ii) the ERMP states the alternative way is an
alternative to compliance with the condition for
Page 3
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
helping to achieve the purpose of the
Environmental Protection Act 1994, chapter 4A.
`(2) In this section--
accredited ERMP means an ERMP that is accredited under
the Environmental Protection Act 1994, chapter 4A, part 3.
ERMP means an environmental risk management plan under
the Environmental Protection Act 1994, chapter 4A.
Note--
Noncompliance with an accredited ERMP is not, in itself, an offence.
However, the non-compliance may be the subject of a direction notice
under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, section 363B.
`13E Use etc. of registered agricultural ERA products for
agricultural ERAs
`(1) A person must not use, prepare, store or possess a registered
agricultural ERA product for carrying out an agricultural ERA
other than in a way that complies with the prescribed
agricultural ERA conditions for the product.
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.
`(2) This section is an eligible law for the definition `permit' under
section 109 of the Agvet Code.
`(3) In this section--
registered agricultural ERA product means a registered
agricultural chemical product that is a prescribed agricultural
ERA product.'.
`2E Amendment of schedule (Dictionary)
`Schedule--
insert--
`agricultural ERA, for part 2, division 3, see the
Environmental Protection Act 1994, section 75.
carrying out, an agricultural ERA, see section 12W.
Page 4
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
preparing, for a prescribed agricultural ERA product, see
section 12W.
prescribed agricultural ERA conditions see section 12W.
prescribed agricultural ERA product see section 12W.'.'.
3 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 8, lines 6 and 7--
omit, insert--
`property of more than 2000ha; and
Note--
For part 3, see also section 87A (Extended meaning of
agricultural ERA for pt 3).'.
4 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 9, lines 11 and 12 and table after line 12--
omit.
5 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 10, lines 11 to 13--
omit, insert--
`cattle means beef cattle of all ages.'.
6 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 13, lines 5 and 6, `at more than the optimum rate'--
omit, insert--
`if doing so may result in more than the optimum amount of
nitrogen or phosphorus being applied to the soil'.
7 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 14, lines 1 to 10--
Page 5
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
omit, insert--
`(d) any other matter prescribed under a regulation.
`(3) In this section--
required period means 10 business days after the happening
of the event mentioned in subsection (2) for which the record
must be made.'.
8 Clause 6 (Insertion of new ch 4A)--
Page 16, after line 16--
insert--
`Division 1AA Preliminary
`87A Extended meaning of agricultural ERA for pt 3
`(1) This section applies to cattle grazing carried out on an
agricultural property carrying more than 100 standard cattle
units.
`(2) For this part, the cattle grazing is an agricultural ERA if,
disregarding the size of the property, the cattle grazing would
be an agricultural ERA under section 75.
`(3) This section does not limit what is an agricultural ERA under
section 75 for this part.
`(4) In this section--
standard cattle units means units of measurement based on
the live weight of cattle as follows--
Live weight of head (kg) Number of
standard
cattle units
up to 350 0.67
more than 350 to 400 0.74
more than 400 to 450 0.81
more than 450 to 500 0.87
more than 500 to 550 0.94
more than 550 to 600 1.00
Page 6
Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Bill 2009
Live weight of head (kg) Number of
standard
cattle units
more than 600 to 650 1.06
more than 650 to 700 1.12
more than 700 1.18.'.
9 Clause 20 (Amendment of sch 4 (Dictionary))
Page 29, line 11--
omit, insert--
`agricultural ERA means--
(a) generally--an agricultural ERA as defined under
section 75; and
(b) for chapter 4A, part 3--see also section 87A.'.
10 After clause 24--
Page 32, after line 12--
insert--
`Part 4 Amendment of Sustainable
Planning Act 2009
`25 Act amended
`This part amends the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.
`26 Amendment of s 10 (Definitions for terms used in
development)
`Section 10(1), definition material change of use, paragraph
(b), after `, other than for'--
insert--
`an agricultural ERA under the Environmental Protection Act,
section 75,'.'.
Page 7
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