Queensland Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1994 - SECT 319

319 General environmental duty

(1) A person must not carry out any activity that causes, or is likely to cause, environmental harm unless the person takes all reasonably practicable measures to prevent or minimise the harm (the
"general environmental duty" ).

Note—

See section 24 (3) (Effect of Act on other rights, civil remedies etc.).

(2) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person contravenes the general environmental duty in relation to an activity; and

(b) the contravention causes, or is likely to cause, serious or material environmental harm.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—

(a) if the offence is committed wilfully—4,500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment; or

(b) otherwise—1,655 penalty units.

(3) However, a person does not commit an offence against subsection (2) for a contravention of the general environmental duty in relation to an activity if—

(a) the contravention arises only because the person does an act that causes, or is likely to cause, environmental harm; and

(b) either—

(i) a thing mentioned in section 493A(2) authorises the act to be done and provides for reasonably practicable measures to be taken in relation to the doing of the act; or

(ii) in doing the act, the person complies with a code of practice that applies in relation to the doing of the act.

(4) In deciding the measures required to be taken under subsection (1) , regard must be had to, for example—

(a) the nature of the harm or potential harm; and

(b) the sensitivity of the receiving environment; and

(c) the current state of technical knowledge for the activity; and

(d) the likelihood of successful application of the different measures that might be taken; and

(e) the financial implications of the different measures as they would relate to the type of activity.

(5) Also, in deciding whether the general environmental duty is contravened regard may be had to whether a person fails, for example, to do any of the following in carrying out an activity—

(a) install, use and maintain plant, equipment, processes or systems in a way that minimises risks of environmental harm that may arise in connection with the activity;

(b) use and maintain systems for the identification, assessment and control of risks of environmental harm that may arise in connection with the activity, and for the evaluation of the effectiveness of controls;

(c) use and maintain systems to ensure that all substances are handled, stored, used or transported in a way that minimises risks of environmental harm that may arise in connection with the activity;

(d) use and maintain systems to ensure that information, instruction, supervision and training is provided to any person engaging in the activity in a way that minimises risks of environmental harm that may arise in connection with the activity.

(6) A reference in subsection (3) to an act includes an omission and a reference to doing an act includes making an omission.