AustLII Tasmanian Consolidated Acts

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND POLLUTION CONTROL ACT 1994 - SECT 32

Division 4 - Notification obligations Notification of incidents

(1)  A person responsible for –
(a) a level 1 activity, other than an activity in relation to which a determination has been made in accordance with section 24(4A) ; or
(b) an activity that is not a level 2 activity or a level 3 activity, and that has not been assessed and approved by the Board under section 27  –
must notify the relevant council, as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than 24 hours, after becoming aware of the release of a pollutant occurring as the result of any incident in relation to that activity, including an emergency, accident or malfunction, if this release causes or may cause an environmental nuisance.
(2)  A person responsible for an activity that is to be treated as if it were a level 2 activity in accordance with section 24(4A) , or an activity that is a level 2 activity or a level 3 activity, or an activity that is assessed and approved by the Board under section 27 , must notify the Director, as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than 24 hours, after becoming aware of the release of a pollutant occurring as a result of any incident in relation to that activity, including an emergency, accident or malfunction, if this release causes or may cause an environmental nuisance.
(3)  A person responsible for an environmentally relevant activity must notify the Director, as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than 24 hours, after becoming aware of the release of a pollutant occurring as a result of any incident in relation to that activity, including an emergency, accident or malfunction, if this release causes or may cause serious or material environmental harm.
(4)  Any notification referred to in subsection (1) , (2) or (3) must include details of the incident, its nature, the circumstances in which it occurred and any action that has been taken to deal with it.
(5)  A person who contravenes subsection (1) , (2) or (3) is guilty of an offence.
Penalty:  In the case of –
(a) a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 1 200 penalty units; or
(b) a natural person, a fine not exceeding 600 penalty units.
(6)  For the purposes of –
(a) subsection (1) , a person is not required to notify the council of such an incident if the person has reasonable grounds for believing that the incident has already come to the notice of the council; and
(b) subsections (2) and (3) , a person is not required to notify the Director of such an incident if the person has reasonable grounds for believing that the incident has already come to the notice of the Director.
(6A)  A person is required to notify the council or the Director under this section despite the fact that to do so might incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty.
(7)  Any notification given by a person in compliance with this section is not admissible in evidence against the person in proceedings for an offence or for the imposition of a penalty (other than proceedings in respect of the making of a false or misleading statement).
(8)  In this section –
release includes the emission, discharge, depositing or disturbance of a pollutant.



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