135A—Recovery of administrative and technical costs associated with
action under Part 10A
(1) This section
applies to the following action taken by the Authority:
(a)
conducting investigations (including taking samples or conducting tests,
examinations or analyses) in connection with—
(i)
issuing a site contamination assessment order or
site remediation order; or
(ii)
entering into an agreement for an approved voluntary site
contamination assessment proposal under section 103I or an approved
voluntary site remediation proposal under section 103K; or
(b)
investigating or monitoring compliance with such an order or agreement
(including taking samples or conducting tests, examinations or analyses); or
(c)
conducting negotiations with the relevant person in relation to such an order
or agreement.
(2) If the Authority
has incurred costs or expenses in taking action to which this section applies,
the Authority may, by notice in writing served on the relevant person, require
the person to pay to the Authority a fee fixed by, or calculated in accordance
with, the regulations.
(3) Subject to
subsection (4), an amount payable to the Authority in accordance with a
notice under this section must be paid within the period specified in the
notice.
(4) On application by
a person who has been served a notice under this section, the Authority may,
by notice in writing—
(a)
extend the time for payment of an amount payable in accordance with the
notice; or
(b)
waive payment of such an amount or reduce the amount payable.
(5) A person who fails
to pay an amount payable to the Authority in accordance with this section is
guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $1 000.
Expiation fee: $500.
(6) If a notice issued
under this section requires payment of an amount in respect of a
site contamination assessment order or site remediation order and the order is
the subject of an appeal, the notice is suspended until the appeal has been
determined (but if the court, on appeal, finds that the order was contravened
or that the order was properly issued, as the case may be, the notice will
have effect as if the period for payment specified in the notice commenced on
the day on which the appeal was determined).
(7) If an amount
payable to the Authority is not paid in accordance with this section, the
amount may be recovered as a debt by the Authority.
(8) In this
section—
"relevant person", in relation to a site, means the person—
(a) who
is or who would be the appropriate person to be issued with a site
contamination assessment order or site remediation order in respect of the
site (determined in accordance with section 103C); and
(b) in
respect of whom action to which this section applies is being or has been
taken.