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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial
Amendment Bill 2012
No , 2012
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 to provide for
ongoing cloud seeding operations in the Snowy Mountains area; and for related
purposes.
Clause 1 Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment 3
Act 2012. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. 6
Page 2
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud 1
Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 2
[1] Long title 3
Omit "a trial cloud seeding research project". 4
Insert instead "cloud seeding operations". 5
[2] Section 1 Name of Act 6
Omit "Trial". 7
[3] Section 3 Definitions 8
Insert in alphabetical order: 9
approved EMP means an environmental management plan 10
approved by the relevant Ministers under section 5 and for which 11
the approval is in force. 12
approved method, in relation to the discharge of a seeding agent 13
or tracing agent, means a method specified as an approved 14
method in, or approved in accordance with, section 4C. 15
approved seeding agent means a thing specified as an approved 16
seeding agent in, or approved in accordance with, section 4A. 17
approved tracing agent means a thing specified as an approved 18
tracing agent in, or approved in accordance with, section 4B. 19
environmental management plan or EMP--see section 5. 20
EPA means the Environment Protection Authority constituted by 21
the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991. 22
Snowy water catchment has the same meaning as it has in the 23
Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997. 24
[4] Section 3, definition of "authorised cloud seeding operations" 25
Omit "during the period referred to in section 5". 26
[5] Section 3, definition of "function" 27
Insert "and exercise a function includes perform a duty" after "duty". 28
[6] Section 3, definition of "Natural Resources Commission" 29
Omit the definition. 30
[7] Section 3 (2) 31
Insert at the end of section 3: 32
(2) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act. 33
Page 3
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Schedule 1 Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
[8] Part 2, heading 1
Omit "trial". Insert instead "operations". 2
[9] Sections 4-4C 3
Omit section 4. Insert instead: 4
4 Authorisation of cloud seeding operations 5
(1) Cloud seeding operations designed to increase precipitation by 6
the discharge of a seeding agent into passing clouds are 7
authorised to be carried out by or on behalf of Snowy Hydro 8
Limited in accordance with this Act. 9
(2) The authorisation is subject to the following conditions: 10
(a) the area to be primarily targeted for the increased 11
precipitation is land within the Snowy water catchment, 12
(b) operations may be carried out only if there is an approved 13
EMP, 14
(c) operations must be carried out in accordance with the 15
approved EMP (whether being carried out within or 16
outside the Snowy water catchment), 17
(d) the seeding agent used must be an approved seeding agent 18
and used in accordance with the conditions (if any) of its 19
approval as a seeding agent, 20
(e) the tracing agent used must be an approved tracing agent 21
and used in accordance with the conditions (if any) of its 22
approval as a tracing agent, 23
(f) the seeding agent and tracing agent must be discharged by 24
the use of an approved method, 25
(g) the discharge must be carried out in accordance with the 26
conditions (if any) of its approval as a method of 27
discharge, 28
(h) the discharge of the seeding agent is to be carried out at a 29
time when increased precipitation in the Snowy water 30
catchment is likely to fall as snow at an elevation above 31
1400 metres from the mean sea level, 32
(i) Snowy Hydro Limited must consult with the National 33
Parks and Wildlife Service before carrying out any new 34
operations involving a land-based method of discharge of 35
seeding or tracing agent within any area of land reserved 36
under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (that is, 37
operations in an area that has not been the subject of 38
previous consultation with the Service), 39
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Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Schedule 1
(j) Snowy Hydro Limited must consult with the National 1
Parks and Wildlife Service before installing, or carrying 2
out major modifications to, any facilities required to carry 3
out cloud seeding operations within any area of land 4
reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, 5
(k) installation of new facilities for cloud seeding operations 6
must not be carried out within any wilderness area (within 7
the meaning of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974), 8
(l) a seeding agent is not to be discharged from land-based 9
aerosol generators in any wilderness area (within the 10
meaning of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974). 11
(3) The cloud seeding operations authorised by this Act include, 12
subject to the requirements imposed by or under this Act: 13
(a) entering onto public land to carry out the cloud seeding 14
operations, and 15
(b) installing and maintaining facilities, and carrying out 16
works, on public or other land, that are required to carry 17
out cloud seeding operations, and 18
(c) any operations that are ancillary or incidental to the 19
operations referred to in this section. 20
(4) The cloud seeding operations authorised by this Act may be 21
carried out within or outside the Snowy water catchment, subject 22
to the requirements imposed by or under this Act. 23
4A Approved seeding agents 24
(1) Silver iodide is an approved seeding agent. 25
(2) The relevant Ministers may, on application by Snowy Hydro 26
Limited, approve the use of any other thing as a seeding agent in 27
cloud seeding operations. 28
(3) An application for approval of the use of a thing as a seeding 29
agent in cloud seeding operations must be accompanied by 30
details of the health risk assessment carried out in relation to the 31
proposed use of the seeding agent (including the process used to 32
carry out the assessment and the results of the assessment). 33
(4) The health risk assessment is to comply with any requirements 34
set out in the approved EMP. 35
(5) The relevant Ministers may approve the use of a thing as a 36
seeding agent with or without conditions. 37
(6) The relevant Ministers may, at any time, amend or revoke an 38
approval given under this section. 39
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Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Schedule 1 Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
(7) The relevant Ministers must consult with Snowy Hydro Limited 1
before amending or revoking an approval. 2
4B Approved tracing agents 3
(1) Indium sesquioxide is an approved tracing agent. 4
(2) The relevant Ministers may, on application by Snowy Hydro 5
Limited, approve the use of any other thing as a tracing agent in 6
cloud seeding operations. 7
(3) An application for approval of the use of a thing as a tracing agent 8
in cloud seeding operations must be accompanied by details of 9
the health risk assessment carried out in relation to the proposed 10
use of the tracing agent (including the process used to carry out 11
the assessment and the results of the assessment). 12
(4) The health risk assessment is to comply with any requirements 13
set out in the approved EMP. 14
(5) The relevant Ministers may approve the use of a thing as a tracing 15
agent with or without conditions. 16
(6) The relevant Ministers may, at any time, amend or revoke an 17
approval given under this section. 18
(7) The relevant Ministers must consult with Snowy Hydro Limited 19
before amending or revoking an approval. 20
4C Approved methods of discharge of agent 21
(1) The discharge of a seeding agent or tracing agent by land-based 22
aerosol generators is an approved method of discharge. 23
(2) The relevant Ministers may, on application by Snowy Hydro 24
Limited, approve the use of an aerial method of discharge of a 25
seeding agent or tracing agent as an approved method of 26
discharge. 27
(3) The relevant Ministers may approve the use of an aerial method 28
of discharge as an approved method of discharge with or without 29
conditions. 30
(4) The relevant Ministers may, at any time, amend or revoke an 31
approval given under this section. 32
(5) The relevant Ministers must consult with Snowy Hydro Limited 33
before amending or revoking an approval. 34
Page 6
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Schedule 1
[10] Sections 5 and 5A 1
Omit section 5. Insert instead: 2
5 Environmental management plan 3
(1) The relevant Ministers may, on application by Snowy Hydro 4
Limited, approve an environmental management plan (an EMP) 5
in relation to the cloud seeding operations authorised by this Act. 6
(2) The EMP is to comply with any requirements imposed by the 7
relevant Ministers and notified to Snowy Hydro Limited. 8
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the relevant Ministers may 9
require the EMP to provide for the following: 10
(a) a public review and approval process that must be 11
undertaken before any aerial cloud seeding operations or 12
changes to seeding agents or tracing agents, 13
(b) a process for the resolution of disputes about cloud seeding 14
operations between Snowy Hydro Limited and others 15
(such as community members, Ministers or NSW 16
Government agencies). 17
(4) The relevant Ministers may require an application for approval of 18
an EMP to be accompanied by an independent scientific 19
assessment of any proposed cloud seeding operations that differ 20
from the operations currently authorised. Any such scientific 21
assessment must comply with any requirements imposed by the 22
relevant Ministers and notified to Snowy Hydro Limited. 23
(5) The relevant Ministers may, on application by Snowy Hydro 24
Limited: 25
(a) approve an amendment to an approved EMP, or 26
(b) revoke an approval of an EMP and approve a new EMP. 27
(6) This section applies in respect of an application for approval of 28
amendment of an approved EMP in the same way as it applies in 29
respect of an application for approval of an EMP. 30
(7) An approval of an EMP remains in force until it is revoked by the 31
relevant Ministers. 32
5A Review of approved EMP 33
(1) The relevant Ministers may, from time to time, conduct a review 34
of an approved EMP. 35
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Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Schedule 1 Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
(2) A review must be conducted at least once every 5 years after 1
approval of an EMP is granted or renewed. However, reviews 2
may be conducted at more frequent intervals. 3
(3) The relevant Ministers are to advise Snowy Hydro Limited of 4
their intention to conduct a review and to give Snowy Hydro 5
Limited an opportunity to make submissions on the review. 6
(4) For the purposes of the review, Snowy Hydro Limited must 7
provide the relevant Ministers with any information or evidence 8
required by the relevant Ministers to conduct the review. 9
(5) Without limiting subsection (4), the relevant Ministers may 10
require Snowy Hydro Limited to provide an independent 11
scientific assessment of any proposed cloud seeding operations 12
that differ from the operations currently authorised. Any such 13
scientific assessment must comply with any requirements 14
imposed by the relevant Ministers and notified to Snowy Hydro 15
Limited. 16
(6) Following a review, the relevant Ministers may: 17
(a) renew their approval of the approved EMP (with or 18
without amendments to the EMP), or 19
(b) revoke their approval of the approved EMP and approve a 20
new EMP, or 21
(c) revoke their approval of the approved EMP. 22
(7) The relevant Ministers must consult with Snowy Hydro Limited 23
before revoking their approval of an approved EMP. 24
[11] Section 6 Suspension or termination of authorisation 25
Omit section 6 (2) (b). Insert instead: 26
(b) Snowy Hydro Limited has not complied with any 27
conditions of the authorisation conferred by this Act or any 28
other requirement imposed by or under this Act, or 29
[12] Section 6 (2) (d) 30
Insert at the end of section 6 (2) (c): 31
, or 32
(d) Snowy Hydro Limited has not complied with a 33
requirement made of it under Chapter 7 of the Protection 34
of the Environment Operations Act 1997 in connection 35
with a review carried out by the EPA under this Act. 36
Page 8
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Schedule 1
[13] Section 6 (4) 1
Omit "and the Natural Resources Commission". 2
[14] Part 2A 3
Insert after Part 2: 4
Part 2A Reporting and review 5
6A Reporting requirements 6
(1) Snowy Hydro Limited must, by 31 March in each year or such 7
later date as agreed by the relevant Ministers, provide a report on 8
its cloud seeding operations during the period of 12 months 9
ending on 31 December in the previous year to the relevant 10
Ministers and to the EPA. 11
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the report must 12
contain the following information: 13
(a) details of compliance with the approved EMP, 14
(b) details of research concerning, and monitoring of, the 15
impact of tracing agents and seeding agents on the 16
environment (including the findings of any such research 17
or monitoring). 18
6B General functions of EPA 19
(1) The EPA is to review each report on cloud seeding operations 20
provided by Snowy Hydro Limited and report the findings of the 21
review, and make any necessary recommendations following the 22
review, to the Board of the EPA and the relevant Ministers. 23
(2) The EPA is, from time to time as determined by the EPA, to 24
review the cloud seeding operations carried out in accordance 25
with this Act and report the findings of the review, and make any 26
necessary recommendations following the review, to the Board 27
of the EPA and the relevant Ministers. 28
6C Application of Chapter 7 of Protection of the Environment 29
Operations Act 1997 30
Chapter 7 (Investigation) of the Protection of the Environment 31
Operations Act 1997 extends to the exercise of powers in 32
connection with this Act and the regulations. 33
Note. Section 186 of the Protection of the Environment Operations 34
Act 1997 provides that Chapter 7 of that Act extends to the exercise of 35
certain powers in connection with certain other legislation, including this 36
Act. Chapter 7 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 37
Page 9
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Schedule 1 Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
deals with such matters as the appointment of authorised officers, 1
powers to require information and records, powers of entry and search, 2
powers to question and to identify persons and powers with respect to 3
certain things such as vehicles. 4
[15] Section 8 Supervision of trial and reporting by Natural Resources 5
Commission 6
Omit the section. 7
[16] Section 9 No compensation payable by State 8
Insert "or amendment" after "enactment" in section 9 (1) (a). 9
[17] Section 9 (1) (d) 10
Insert after section 9 (1) (c): 11
(d) the effect of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity 12
Conservation Act 1999 of the Commonwealth on the 13
authorised cloud seeding operations, including anything 14
done or omitted to be done by the Commonwealth or any 15
person exercising a function under that Act in respect of 16
the authorised cloud seeding operations. 17
[18] Section 10A 18
Insert after section 10: 19
10A Delegation 20
A Minister may delegate to a member of the Government Service 21
the exercise of any of the Minister's functions under this Act or 22
the regulations, other than this power of delegation. 23
[19] Section 11 Regulations 24
Insert at the end of the section: 25
(2) In particular, the regulations may make provision for or with 26
respect to fees payable by Snowy Hydro Limited to the National 27
Parks and Wildlife Service in connection with cloud seeding 28
operations (including by specifying any such fee or the method 29
by which the fee is to be calculated). 30
(3) The Minister is not to recommend the making of a regulation that 31
provides for the payment of fees by Snowy Hydro Limited in 32
connection with cloud seeding operations unless the Minister 33
certifies that he or she is satisfied that the fees do not exceed the 34
costs incurred or likely to be incurred by the National Parks and 35
Wildlife Service in connection with cloud seeding operations. 36
Page 10
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Amendment of Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Schedule 1
[20] Schedule 1 1
Omit the Schedule. Insert instead: 2
Schedule 1 Savings and transitional provisions 3
Part 1 General 4
1 Regulations 5
(1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or 6
transitional nature consequent on the enactment of this Act or any 7
Act that amends this Act. 8
(2) Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect 9
from the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later date. 10
(3) To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date 11
that is earlier than the date of its publication on the NSW 12
legislation website, the provision does not operate so as: 13
(a) to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than 14
the State or an authority of the State), the rights of that 15
person existing before the date of its publication, or 16
(b) to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or 17
an authority of the State) in respect of anything done or 18
omitted to be done before the date of its publication. 19
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Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Amendment Bill 2012
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts 1
2.1 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 No 80 2
[1] Section 138 Payments into Fund 3
Insert ", the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Act 2004" after "the Wilderness 4
Act 1987" in section 138 (1) (b) (iii). 5
[2] Section 139 Payments out of Fund 6
Insert after section 139 (2) (m2): 7
(m3) charges, costs and expenses incurred by the Service in 8
connection with cloud seeding operations authorised by 9
the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Act 2004, 10
2.2 Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 No 156 11
Section 186 Extension of Chapter to other environment protection 12
legislation 13
Insert after section 186 (b2): 14
(b3) Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Act 2004 and the 15
regulations under that Act, 16
Page 12
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