Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) Before carrying out any petroleum operation, the holder of the authority under which the operation is to be carried out must give the Minister an operation plan—
S. 161(1)(a) amended by No. 55/2010 s. 61.
(a) that identifies the risks that the operation may pose to the environment, to any member of the public, land or property in the vicinity of the operation and to any petroleum, source of petroleum or reservoir that the operation might affect; and
(b) that specifies what the holder of the authority will do to eliminate or minimise those risks; and
(c) that specifies what the holder of the authority will do to rehabilitate the land that will be affected by the operation; and
(d) that sets out any other matters required by the regulations.
Penalty: 240 penalty units.
S. 161(1A) inserted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(1).
(1A) In the course of preparing an operation plan for a petroleum operation, the holder of the authority—
(a) must give notice of the proposed operation to any relevant person or organisation; and
(b) may give notice of the proposed operation to any other person or organisation that the holder of the authority considers appropriate.
S. 161(1B) inserted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(1).
(1B) A notice under subsection (1A) must—
(a) contain sufficient information to allow the person or organisation to make an informed assessment of any impact that the petroleum operation may have on the activities or interests of that person or organisation; and
(b) state that the person or organisation may, within a reasonable period of receiving the notice, make a submission to the holder of the authority about the operation plan; and
(c) contain any prescribed information.
S. 161(1C) inserted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(1).
(1C) The Minister must, within a reasonable time after receiving an operation plan under subsection (1)—
(a) refuse to accept the operation plan; or
(b) accept the operation plan subject to any conditions that the Minister considers appropriate.
S. 161(1D) inserted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(1).
(1D) In determining whether to accept or refuse an operation plan, the Minister must take into account any prescribed factor.
(2) The holder of the authority must not carry out the petroleum operation unless the Minister has accepted the operation plan for the operation in writing.
Penalty: 240 penalty units.
S. 161(3) substituted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(2).
(3) The Minister must not accept an operation plan unless the holder of the authority has provided the Minister with evidence in the prescribed form—
(a) that the holder of the authority has complied with subsections (1A) and (1B); and
(b) if a person or organisation makes a submission on the operation plan within a reasonable period after receiving notice under subsection (1A), that the holder of the authority has considered the submission when preparing the operation plan.
S. 161(4) inserted by No. 20/2020 s. 20(2).
(4) In this section—
"relevant person or organisation", in relation to an operation plan, means—
(a) any person or organisation that may be affected by an activity carried out under the operation plan; and
(b) any person or organisation that has interests that may be affected by an activity carried out under the operation plan.