South Australian Current Acts

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1993 - SECT 10

10—Objects of Act

        (1)         The objects of this Act are—

            (a)         to promote the following principles ("principles of ecologically sustainable development ):

                  (i)         that the use, development and protection of the environment should be managed in a way, and at a rate, that will enable people and communities to provide for their economic, social and physical well-being and for their health and safety while—

                        (A)         sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and

                        (B)         safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, land and ecosystems; and

                        (C)         avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment;

                  (ii)         that proper weight should be given to both long and short term economic, environmental, social and equity considerations in deciding all matters relating to environmental protection, restoration and enhancement; and

            (ab)         to ensure that all reasonable and practicable measures are taken to protect, restore and enhance the quality of the environment having regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the need for climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation; and

            (b)         in particular, to ensure that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the following measures are taken:

                  (i)         to prevent, reduce, minimise and, where practicable, eliminate harm to the environment—

                        (A)         by programs to encourage and assist action by industry, public authorities and the community aimed at pollution prevention, clean production and technologies, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation and resource recovery; and

        (AB)         by programs to encourage and assist industry, public authorities and the community to apply the waste management hierarchy; and

                        (B)         by regulating, in an integrated, systematic and cost-effective manner—

        •         activities, products, substances and services that, through pollution or production of waste, cause environmental harm; and

        •         the generation, storage, handling, treatment, transfer, transportation, receipt or disposal of waste and other pollutants;

            (iaa)         to promote the circulation of materials through the waste management process and to support a strong market for recovered resources—

                        (A)         by programs to encourage and assist industry, public authorities and the community to engage in resource recovery; and

                        (B)         by regulating resource recovery; and

                        (C)         by regulating the handling, storage, treatment, transfer, transportation, receipt or disposal of waste or other matter; and

                        (D)         by preventing the unauthorised stockpiling of waste or other matter;

            (ia)         to establish processes for carrying out assessments of known or suspected site contamination and, if appropriate, remediation of the sites;

                  (ii)         to co-ordinate activities, policies and programmes necessary to prevent, reduce, minimise or eliminate environmental harm, address climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation and ensure effective environmental protection, restoration and enhancement;

                  (iii)         to facilitate the adoption and implementation of environment protection measures agreed on by the State under intergovernmental arrangements for greater uniformity and effectiveness in environment protection;

                  (iv)         to apply a precautionary approach to the assessment of risk of environmental harm and climate change and ensure that all aspects of environmental quality affected by pollution and waste (including ecosystem sustainability and valued environmental attributes) are considered in decisions relating to the environment;

                  (v)         to require persons engaged in polluting activities to progressively make environmental improvements (including reduction of pollution and waste at source) as such improvements become practicable through technological and economic developments;

            (va)         to require persons engaged in polluting activities to ensure their facilities and premises are designed or progressively improved so as to limit the risk of environmental harm from those activities in relation to the impacts of a changing climate;

                  (vi)         to allocate the costs of environment protection and restoration equitably and in a manner that encourages responsible use of, and reduced harm to, the environment with polluters bearing an appropriate share of the costs that arise from their activities, products, substances and services;

                  (vii)         to provide for monitoring and reporting on environmental quality on a regular basis to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and the maintenance of a record of trends in environmental quality;

                  (viii)         to provide for reporting on the state of the environment on a periodic basis;

                  (ix)         to promote—

                        (A)         industry and community education and involvement in decisions about the protection, restoration and enhancement of the environment; and

                        (B)         disclosure of, and public access to, information about significant environmental incidents and hazards.

        (2)         The Minister, the Authority and all other administering agencies and persons involved in the administration of this Act must have regard to, and seek to further, the objects of this Act.