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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
House of Assembly—No 141
As laid on the table and read a first time, 21 September
2005
South Australia
Statutes
Amendment (Reuse of Water) Bill 2005
A Bill For
An Act to amend the Natural Resources Management
Act 2004, the Public and Environmental Health Act 1987 and
the Sewerage Act 1929.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Natural
Resources Management Act 2004
4 Insertion of Chapter 7 Part 3
Division 6
Division 6—Schemes to promote
the reuse of water
164A Schemes to promote the reuse of water
Part 3—Amendment of Public and
Environmental Health Act 1987
5 Amendment of section 21—Pollution of
water
Part 4—Amendment of Sewerage
Act 1929
6 Amendment of
section 36—Waste material not to be discharged onto land or into pit etc
The Parliament of South Australia enacts
as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Statutes Amendment (Reuse of
Water) Bill 2005.
(1) Subject
to subsection (2), this Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
(2) If
a provision of this Act has not been brought into operation sooner, it will, by
force of this subsection, come into operation 6 months after assent.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the
amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment of Natural Resources Management
Act 2004
4—Insertion of Chapter 7 Part 3 Division 6
Chapter 7 Part 3—after Division 5 insert:
Division 6—Schemes
to promote the reuse of water
164A—Schemes
to promote the reuse of water
(1) The
Minister must, by notice in the Gazette, establish a scheme to promote the
discharge into various water resources of wastewater that meets prescribed
standards in order to further the objects of this Act.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1),
the Minister—
(a) must ensure that standards that wastewater must meet before
the wastewater can be discharged under the scheme are developed or adopted; and
(b) may, by notice in the Gazette—
(i) establish the
method or basis according to which the quantity and quality of wastewater
discharged under the scheme will be measured or assessed; and
(ii) determine conditions with respect to the discharge of
wastewater under the scheme; and
(iii) exclude any water resource, or any water resource of a
specified class, from the operation of the scheme;
(iv) provide for any other related or ancillary matter as the
Minister thinks fit.
(3) The
Minister may, at any time, by subsequent notice published in the Gazette, vary
or substitute a notice under subsection (1).
(4) The following provisions apply in relation
to the discharge of wastewater in accordance with the scheme established under
this section:
(a) for each kilolitre of wastewater discharged in accordance
with the scheme there will be a credit calculated as follows:
where—
C is the credit (expressed in kilolitres);
V
is the volume of wastewater discharged under the scheme (expressed in
kilolitres);
(b) the credit—
(i) will be assigned
to the person responsible for the discharge of the water (as determined in
accordance with any provision made by the regulations); and
(ii) will
be allocated to a licence nominated by that person (in accordance with any procedure
determined by the regulations) as if it were a component of a water allocation
obtained from the Minister under section 151 (free of charge).
(5) An allocation of water represented by a
credit under subsection (4)—
(a) will be subject to any relevant conditions of the licence to
which the credit is assigned; and
(b) will be subject to the other provisions of this Part
relating to water allocations (including as to the reduction of water
allocations and the transfer of water allocations); and
(c) will be subject to any other provision made by the
regulations.
(6) An
allocation of water represented by a credit under subsection (4) will not
be subject to any levy under Chapter 5.
(7) For the purposes of this section, the
Governor may, by regulation—
(a) determine that water with prescribed characteristics will be
taken to be wastewater;
(b) determine that water with prescribed characteristics will
not be taken to be wastewater,
(and any such regulation will have effect
according to its terms).
(8) Any
assessment or determination of the volume of wastewater under this section will
be to 1 decimal point.
Part 3—Amendment of Public and Environmental Health
Act 1987
5—Amendment of section 21—Pollution of water
Section 21(5)—delete subsection (5) and
substitute:
(5) This section does not apply to, or in
relation to—
(a) the
pollution of a water supply as a result of an activity authorised under the Natural
Resources Management Act 2004; or
(b) the pollution of a prescribed water supply; or
(c) the pollution of a water supply if—
(i) the only activity
being undertaken in relation to the water supply is the discharge of
wastewater; and
(ii) the wastewater complies with standards prescribed by the
regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
(6) The
Minister must ensure that standards are developed or adopted for the purposes
of subsection (5)(c).
(7) Subsection
(5) does not apply to a water supply, or a water supply of a class, excluded
from the operation of that subsection by the regulations.
Part 4—Amendment of Sewerage Act 1929
6—Amendment of section 36—Waste material not to be discharged onto land or into pit etc
Section 36—after
subsection (4) insert:
(5) Subsection
(1) does not apply with respect to the discharge of wastewater into a well if
the wastewater complies with standards prescribed by the regulations for the
purposes of this subsection.
(6) The
Minister must ensure that standards are developed or adopted for the purposes
of subsection (5).
(7) However, subsection (5) does not apply
with respect to a well if—
(a) the well is excluded from the operation of that subsection
by the regulations; or
(b) the well is within a class of wells excluded from the operation of that subsection by the regulations.