Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Environment Protection Act 1970 - SECT 27

Offences

27. Offences









(1) A person who is the occupier of a scheduled premises at or from which
waste is discharged, emitted or deposited to the environment-

   (a)  without a licence where a licence is required by this Act; or

   (b)  while the licence is suspended-

is guilty of an indictable offence against this Act and liable to a penalty of
not more than 2400 penalty units and in the case of a continuing offence to a
daily penalty of not more than 1200 penalty units for each day the offence
continues after conviction or after service by the Authority on the defendant
of notice of contravention of this section.

(1A) A person who is the occupier of a scheduled premises at which waste is,
or substances which are a danger or potential danger to the quality of the
environment or any segment of the environment are, reprocessed, treated,
stored, contained, disposed of or handled-

   (a)  without a licence where a licence is required by this Act; or

   (b)  while the licence is suspended-

is guilty of an indictable offence against this Act and liable to a penalty of
not more than 2400 penalty units and in the case of a continuing offence to a
daily penalty of not more than 1200 penalty units for each day the offence
continues after conviction or after service by the Authority on the defendant
of notice of contravention of this section.

(1B) A person who is the occupier of a scheduled premises and undertakes an
activity which creates a state of potential danger to the quality of the
environment or any segment of the environment-

   (a)  without a licence where a licence is required by this Act; or

   (b)  while the licence is suspended-

is guilty of an indictable offence against this Act and liable to a penalty of
not more than 2400 penalty units and in the case of a continuing offence to a
daily penalty of not more than 1200 penalty units for each day the offence
continues after conviction or after service by the Authority on the defendant
of notice of contravention of this section.

(2) A holder of a licence who contravenes any condition to which the licence
is subject shall be guilty of an indictable offence against this Act and
liable to a penalty of not more than 2400 penalty units and in the case of a
continuing offence to a daily penalty of not more than 1200 penalty units for
each day the offence continues after conviction or after service by the
Authority on the defendant of notice of contravention of the condition.



(3) Where-

   (a)  premises are shared by a corporation and a subsidiary or subsidiaries
        of that corporation;

   (b)  one of those corporations is the holder of a licence under this Act in
        respect of those premises; and

   (c)  there occurs on the premises a contravention of a condition to which
        the licence is subject-

the holder of the licence shall in the absence of evidence to the contrary be
deemed to have caused that contravention.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) a corporation is a subsidiary of
another corporation if the corporation is a subsidiary of the corporation
within the meaning of the Corporations Act.