Queensland Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1994 - SECT 215

215 Other amendments

(1) The administering authority may amend an environmental authority or PRCP schedule at any time if—

(a) it considers the amendment is necessary or desirable because of a matter mentioned in subsection (2) and the procedure under division 2 is followed; or

(b) the holder of the authority or schedule has agreed in writing to the amendment.

(2) For subsection (1) (a) , the matters are the following—

(a) a contravention of this Act or an environmental offence committed by the holder;

(b) for an environmental authority issued for a standard application or variation application—the relevant activity does not comply with the eligibility criteria for the activity;

(c) for an environmental authority—

(i) another person becomes a holder of the authority; or

(ii) another entity becomes a holding company of a holder of the authority;

(d) the authority was issued or schedule was approved because of a materially false or misleading representation or declaration, made either orally or in writing;

(e) for an environmental authority—the authority was issued on the basis of a miscalculation of—

(i) the environmental values affected or likely to be affected by the relevant activity; or

(ii) the quantity or quality of contaminant permitted to be released into the environment; or

(iii) the effects of the release of a quantity or quality of contaminant permitted to be released into the environment;

(f) the issue of a temporary emissions licence;

(g) the approval of an environmental protection policy or the approval of an amendment of an environmental protection policy;

(h) for a PRCP schedule—an audit report for the schedule given to the administering authority under part 12 ;

(i) an environmental audit, investigation or report under chapter 7 , part 2 ;

(j) the issue, amendment or withdrawal of an environmental enforcement order issued under section 362(1);

(k) a compliance statement given under this chapter;

(l) a report made by or for, or approved by, a recognised entity if the report—

(i) is relevant to the authority or schedule, or a relevant activity carried out under the authority or schedule; and

(ii) if the administering authority is not the chief executive—has been accepted by the chief executive;

(m) an annual return required under part 15 , division 2 ;

(n) the acceptance, withdrawal, variation, amendment or suspension of an enforceable undertaking under chapter 10 , part 5 ;

(o) a significant change in the way in which, or the extent to which, the activity is being carried out;

Example of significant change for paragraph (o)—

The conditions of an environmental authority for a mining activity authorised under a mining lease were imposed on the basis that a particular method for removing contaminants from a waste stream for a relevant mining activity would be used. The mining lease is transferred and the transferee changes the method.

(p) for an environmental authority or PRCP schedule for a resource activity—a relevant tenure (the
"old tenure" ) for the authority or schedule is replaced with a new resource tenure of the same type for all or part of the old tenure’s area under the resource legislation;

(q) for an environmental authority—a surrender application under part 10 is approved for a partial surrender of the authority;

(r) for an environmental authority for a resource activity—an underground water impact report under the Water Act 2000 , chapter 3 , identifies impacts, or potential impacts, on an environmental value;

(s) another circumstance prescribed by regulation.

(3) An amendment because of a matter mentioned in subsection (2) (c) may only be to impose a condition under section 308 requiring the holder of the environmental authority to give the administering authority financial assurance.