New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS ACT 1997 - SECT 91

91 Clean-up by owners and occupiers of premises and polluters

(1) Notices The appropriate regulatory authority may, by notice in writing, do 1 or more of the following--

(a) direct an owner or occupier of premises at or from which the authority reasonably suspects that a pollution incident has occurred or is occurring,

(b) direct a person who is reasonably suspected by the authority of causing or having caused a pollution incident,

(c) direct a person who is reasonably suspected by the authority of contributing, to any extent, to a pollution incident,

to take such clean-up action as is specified in the notice and within such period as is specified in the notice.

Note--:
"pollution incident" and
"clean-up action" are defined in the Dictionary.

(1A) The appropriate regulatory authority may give a clean-up notice to a person under subsection (1)(c)--

(a) whether or not another person has been given a clean-up notice in relation to the pollution incident, and

(b) whether or not another person contributed to the pollution incident.

(1B) Without limiting subsection (1), a clean-up notice given to a person under subsection (1)(c) may require the person to carry out clean-up actions to completely prevent, minimise, remove, disperse, destroy or mitigate pollution resulting or likely to result from the incident irrespective of the nature or extent of the person's contribution to the incident.

(2) Notices by EPA in emergency The EPA may, if it considers that it is necessary to do so because of an emergency, give the clean-up notice even if it is not the appropriate regulatory authority with respect to the pollution incident.

(3) Reports The clean-up notice may require the person to whom the notice is given to furnish reports to the appropriate regulatory authority regarding progress on the carrying out of the clean-up action.

(4) If the person given a clean-up notice complies with the notice but was not the person who caused, or solely caused, the pollution incident, the cost, or part of the cost, of complying with the notice may be recovered by the person who complied with the notice as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction from any person who caused or contributed to the pollution incident.

Note--: See also section 144AG, which provides that this part applies to the depositing of litter or waste referred to in section 144AE(1) or the depositing of litter under Part 5.6A as if the depositing of the litter or waste were a pollution incident.