ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1993 - SECT 3

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1993 - SECT 3

3—Interpretation

        (1)         In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

"activity" includes the storage or possession of a pollutant;

"administering agency"—see Division 1A of Part 3;

"air" includes any layer of the atmosphere;

"amenity value" of an area includes any quality or condition of the area that conduces to its enjoyment;

"appointed member", in relation to the Board, means a member appointed by the Governor;

"appropriate person", in relation to the issuing of a site contamination assessment order or site remediation order, means the person who is the appropriate person under Part 10A to be issued with the order;

"approved recovered resource"—see section 4A;

"associate"—see subsection (2);

"authorised officer" means a person appointed to be an authorised officer under Division 1 of Part 10;

"the Authority" means the Environment Protection Authority established under Division 1 of Part 3;

"background concentrations", in relation to chemical substances on a site or below its surface, means results obtained from carrying out assessments of the presence of the substances in the vicinity of the site in accordance with guidelines from time to time issued by the Authority;

"beverage container approval" means an approval for the purposes of Division 2 of Part 8;

"Board" means the Board of the Environment Protection Authority established as the governing body of the Authority under Division 1 of Part 3;

"business" includes a business not carried on for profit or gain and any activity undertaken by government or a public authority;

"cause" site contamination—see section 103D;

"chemical substance" means any organic or inorganic substance, whether a solid, liquid or gas (or combination thereof), and includes waste;

"Chief Executive" of the Authority means a person who is, for the time being, taken to be the Chief Executive of the Authority in accordance with section 14A;

"clean-up authorisation" means a clean-up authorisation issued under Division 4 of Part 10;

"clean-up order" means a clean-up order issued under Division 4 of Part 10;

"climate change adaptation" means any process of adjusting to the actual or expected effects of climate change;

"climate change mitigation" means measures or activities that relate to reducing the rate of climate change including (without limitation) by limiting, reducing or preventing greenhouse gas emissions;

"coastal waters of the State" means any part of the sea that is from time to time included in the coastal waters of the State by virtue of the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 of the Commonwealth;

"condition" includes a limitation;

"contravene" includes fail to comply with;

"council" means a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1999 ;

"director" of a body corporate includes a person occupying or acting in the position of a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate, by whatever name called and whether or not validly appointed to occupy or duly authorised to act in the position, and includes any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors or members of the governing body are accustomed to act;

"disposal", of waste or other matter—see subsection (4);

"document" means a paper or record of any kind, including a disk, tape or other article from which information is capable of being reproduced (with or without the aid of another article or device);

"domestic activity" means an activity other than an activity undertaken in the course of a business;

"domestic partner" means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning of the Family Relationships Act 1975 , whether declared as such under that Act or not;

"environment" means land, air, water, organisms and ecosystems, and includes—

            (a)         human-made or modified structures or areas; and

            (b)         the amenity values of an area;

"environmental authorisation" means a works approval, licence or exemption;

"environmental harm"—see section 5;

"environmental nuisance" means—

            (a)         any adverse effect on an amenity value of an area that—

                  (i)         is caused by pollution; and

                  (ii)         unreasonably interferes with or is likely to interfere unreasonably with the enjoyment of the area by persons occupying a place within, or lawfully resorting to, the area; or

            (b)         any unsightly or offensive condition caused by pollution;

"environment performance agreement" means an environment performance agreement entered into under Part 7;

"environment protection order" means an environment protection order issued under Division 2 of Part 10;

"environment protection policy" means an environment protection policy made under Part 5;

"the Environment, Resources and Development Court" means the Court of that name established under the Environment, Resources and Development Court Act 1993 ;

"exemption" means an exemption under Part 6 from the application of a specified provision of this Act;

"the general environmental duty" means the duty under Part 4;

"greenhouse gas emissions" has the same meaning as in the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007 ;

"holding company" has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth;

"information discovery order" means an information discovery order issued under Division 3 of Part 10;

"injury" includes illness;

"land" means, according to context—

            (a)         land as a physical entity, including land covered with water; or

            (b)         any legal estate or interest in, or right in respect of, land;

"liability" for site contamination means—

            (a)         liability to be issued with an order under Part 10A in respect of the site contamination; or

            (b)         liability to pay an amount ordered by the Court under Part 11 in respect of the site contamination;

"licence" means a licence under Part 6 to undertake a prescribed activity of environmental significance;

"mandatory provisions" of an environment protection policy—see Part 5;

"marine waters" means the coastal waters of the State or any part of the sea that is within the limits of the State, and includes any estuary or tidal waters;

"material environmental harm" —see section 5;

"national environment protection measure" means a national environment protection measure made under the prescribed national scheme laws;

"noise" includes vibration;

"occupier", in relation to a place, includes a person with a right to occupy the place or a licensee or any holder of a right to use or carry on operations at the place, but does not include a mortgagee in possession unless the mortgagee assumes active management of the place;

"officer", in relation to a body corporate, means—

            (a)         a director of the body corporate; or

            (b)         the chief executive officer of the body corporate; or

            (c)         a receiver or manager of any property of the body corporate or a liquidator of the body corporate,

and includes, in relation to a contravention or alleged contravention of this Act by the body corporate, an employee of the body corporate with management responsibilities in respect of the matters to which the contravention or alleged contravention related;

"owner" of land means—

            (a)         if the land is unalienated from the Crown—the Crown; or

            (b)         if the land is alienated from the Crown by grant in fee simple—the owner (at law or in equity) of the estate in fee simple; or

            (c)         if the land is held from the Crown by lease or licence—the lessee or licensee; or

            (d)         if the land is held from the Crown under an agreement to purchase—the person who has the right to purchase;

"place" includes any land, water, premises or structure;

"pollutant" means—

            (a)         any solid, liquid or gas (or combination thereof) including waste, smoke, dust, fumes and odour; or

            (b)         noise; or

            (c)         heat; or

            (d)         anything declared by regulation to be a pollutant for the purposes of this Act (following consultation by the Minister on the regulation with prescribed bodies in accordance with the regulations); or

            (e)         anything declared by an environment protection policy to be a pollutant for the purposes of this Act,

but does not include anything declared by regulation or by an environment protection policy not to be a pollutant for the purposes of this Act;

"pollute" means—

            (a)         discharge, emit, deposit, dispose of or disturb pollutants; or

            (b)         cause or fail to prevent the discharge, emission, depositing, disposal, disturbance or escape of pollutants,

and "pollution" has a corresponding meaning;

"pre-school" means a place primarily used for the care or instruction of children of less than primary school age not resident at the site, and includes a nursery, kindergarten or child-care centre;

"prescribed activity of environmental significance" means an activity specified in Schedule 1 as amended from time to time by regulation;

"the prescribed national scheme laws" means—

            (a)         the prescribed law of the Commonwealth; and

            (b)         the prescribed law of this State; and

            (c)         the laws of other States or Territories of the Commonwealth corresponding to the prescribed law of this State,

under which national environment protection measures may be made;

"prescribed person" means—

            (a)         a natural person; or

            (b)         a body corporate that is not the holder of an environmental authorisation under this Act; or

            (c)         if the regulations specify a scheme under which the holder of an environmental authorisation may apply to the Authority to be accredited as an accredited licensee in respect of a particular prescribed activity of environmental significance—a body corporate that is an accredited licensee under such a scheme;

"public authority" includes a Minister, statutory authority or council;

"related body corporate" has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth;

"remediate" a site means treat, contain, remove or manage chemical substances on or below the surface of the site so as to—

            (a)         eliminate or prevent actual or potential harm to the health or safety of human beings that is not trivial, taking into account current or proposed land uses; and

            (b)         eliminate or prevent, as far as reasonably practicable—

                  (i)         actual or potential harm to water that is not trivial; and

                  (ii)         any other actual or potential environmental harm that is not trivial, taking into account current or proposed land uses,

and "remediation" has a corresponding meaning;

"repealed environment law" means an Act or provision repealed by this Act;

"resource recovery", in relation to waste or other matter, means—

            (a)         reusing the waste or matter; or

            (b)         recycling the waste or matter; or

            (c)         recovering energy or other resources from the waste or matter;

"sell" includes—

            (a)         supply on a gratuitous basis for commercial promotional purposes; and

            (b)         offer or display for sale or such supply;

"sensitive use" means—

            (a)         use for residential purposes; or

            (b)         use for a pre-school; or

            (c)         use for a primary school; or

            (d)         use of a kind prescribed by regulation;

"serious environmental harm"—see section 5;

"site" means an area of land (whether or not in the same ownership or occupation);

"site contamination"—see section 5B;

"site contamination assessment order" means a site contamination assessment order under Part 10A;

"site contamination audit" means a review carried out by a person that—

            (a)         examines assessments or remediation carried out by another person in respect of known or suspected site contamination on or below the surface of a site; and

            (b)         is for the purpose of determining any 1 or more of the following matters:

                  (i)         the nature and extent of any site contamination present or remaining on or below the surface of the site;

                  (ii)         the suitability of the site for a sensitive use or another use or range of uses;

                  (iii)         what remediation is or remains necessary for a specified use or range of uses;

"site contamination auditor" means a person accredited under Division 4 of Part 10A as a site contamination auditor;

"site contamination audit report", in relation to a site contamination audit, means a detailed written report that—

            (a)         sets out the findings of the audit and complies with the guidelines from time to time issued by the Authority; and

            (b)         includes a summary of the findings of the audit certified, in the prescribed form, by the site contamination auditor who personally carried out or directly supervised the audit;

"site contamination audit statement", in relation to a site contamination audit, means a copy (that must comply with the regulations) of the summary of the findings of the audit certified, in the prescribed form, by the site contamination auditor who personally carried out or directly supervised the audit;

"site contamination consultant" means a person other than a site contamination auditor who, for fee or reward, assesses the existence or nature or extent of site contamination;

"site remediation order" means a site remediation order under Part 10A;

"spouse"—a person is the spouse of another if they are legally married;

"treatment", of waste or other matter—see subsection (4);

"unauthorised stockpiling", of waste or other matter—see subsection (5);

"undertake" an activity includes commence or proceed with an activity or cause, suffer or permit an activity to be commenced or to proceed;

"vehicle" includes—

            (a)         any vessel or aircraft; and

            (b)         a vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act 1961 ;

"vessel" includes a vessel within the meaning of the Harbors and Navigation Act 1993 ;

"waste"—see section 4;

"waste management hierarchy"—see section 4B;

"waste transport business" means a waste transport business (category A) or a waste transport business (category B), each within the meaning of Schedule 1 Part A clause 3;

"water" means—

            (a)         water occurring naturally above or under the ground; or

            (b)         water introduced to an aquifer or other area under the ground; or

            (c)         an artificially created body of water or stream that is for public use or enjoyment;

"water protection area"—see section 61;

"works approval" means a works approval under Part 6 to carry out works in respect of a building, structure, plant or equipment for use for a prescribed activity of environmental significance.

        (2)         For the purposes of this Act, a person is an "associate" of another if—

            (a)         they are partners; or

            (b)         one is a spouse, domestic partner, parent or child of another; or

            (c)         they are both trustees or beneficiaries of the same trust, or one is a trustee and the other is a beneficiary of the same trust; or

            (d)         one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a director or member of the governing body of the body corporate or other entity; or

            (e)         one is a body corporate or other entity (whether inside or outside Australia) and the other is a person who has a legal or equitable interest in five per cent or more of the share capital of the body corporate or other entity; or

            (f)         they are related bodies corporate; or

            (g)         a relationship of a prescribed kind exists between them; or

            (h)         a chain of relationships can be traced between them under any one or more of the above paragraphs.

        (3)         For the purposes of subsection (2), a "beneficiary" of a trust includes an object of a discretionary trust.

        (4)         For the purposes of this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

            (a)         a reference to the "disposal of waste or other matter" includes a reference to stockpiling or abandoning the waste or matter; and

            (b)         a reference to the "treatment of waste or other matter" includes a reference to the treatment of waste or other matter for resource recovery; and

            (c)         a reference to the "treatment of waste or other matter for resource recovery" is a reference to the treatment of the waste or matter in some way—

                  (i)         to recover material from the waste or matter that may be reused or recycled; or

                  (ii)         to recover energy or other resources from the waste or matter; or

                  (iii)         to prepare the waste for further treatment to recover material from the waste or matter that may be reused or recycled or to recover energy or other resources from the waste or matter,

and includes, but is not limited to, sorting, shredding, crushing, compacting or packaging the waste or matter; and

            (d)         a reference to "waste or matter of a particular kind" includes a reference to material that contains waste or matter of that kind to a significant extent.

        (5)         For the purposes of this Act, "unauthorised stockpiling" of waste or other matter will be taken to have occurred if a maximum allowable stockpile limit imposed by or under this Act in relation to the waste or other matter has been exceeded.