Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AIRPORTS (ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 201

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 201

Authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Development

Airports Act 1996

Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 252 of the Airports Act 1996 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters:

(a) required or permitted by the Act, to be prescribed; or

(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Paragraph 132(1)(a) of the Act provides that regulations may make standards and impose requirements that are to be complied with in relation to, or in relation to the prevention or minimisation of, environmental pollution (including air, water or soil pollution) generated at airport sites.

Paragraph 133(1)(a) of, the Act provides that the, regulations may provision for and in relation to monitoring, cleaning up, remedying or rectifying environmental pollution (including air, water or soil pollution) generated at airport sites.

Subsection 133(3B) provides that to avoid doubt, regulations made for the purpose of paragraph, (1)(a) may make provision for and in relation to the monitoring, cleaning up, remedying or rectifying, after the regulations take effect, Of environmental pollution, even if the environmental pollution was generated:

(a) before the commencement of the subsection; or

(b) before the regulations took effect.

The Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations (the Regulations) entitle the Airport Environment Officer appointed under the Regulations to direct the occupier of a site to facilitate an investigation into the soil pollution on the site.

The amendments expand the definition of occupier of land in Regulations 6.01, 6.09 and 6 - 14 to include the airport-lessee company where there is no sublease or licence in place for that area.

The amendments to regulation 6.01 also clarify that the Airport Environment Officer can direct any occupier, including the airport-lessee company to provide certain information about prior uses of the land and pollution that relates to the area the occupier occupies on an airport site.

The amendments to the Regulations commenced upon notification in the Gazette.