South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts (1) Where
the Authority or another administering agency is satisfied that a person has
caused environmental harm by a contravention of this Act or a
repealed environment law, the Authority or other administering agency may
issue a clean-up order to the person requiring the person to take specified
action within a specified period to make good any resulting environmental
damage.
(2) A
clean-up order—
(a) must
be in the form of a written notice served on the person to whom it is issued;
(b) must
specify the person to whom it is issued (whether by name or a description
sufficient to identify the person);
(c) must
specify the contravention alleged to have caused the environmental harm;
(ca) may
include requirements for—
(i)
preparing, in accordance with specified requirements and
to the satisfaction of the Authority or other administering agency, a plan of
action in relation to the environmental harm; and
(ii)
complying with such a plan of action to the satisfaction
of the Authority or other administering agency;
(d) may
include requirements for action to be taken to prevent or mitigate further
environmental harm;
(e) may
include requirements for specified testing or environmental monitoring;
(ea) may
include requirements for furnishing to the Authority or other
administering agency specified test, monitoring or compliance reports;
(eb) may
include requirements that the person to whom it is issued appoint or engage a
person with specified qualifications to prepare a plan or report or undertake
tests or monitoring required by the order;
(f) must
state that the person may, within 14 days, appeal to the Environment,
Resources and Development Court against the order.
(2a) Where a proposed
clean-up order (except an emergency clean-up order) or a proposed variation of
a clean-up order would require the undertaking of an activity for which a
permit would, but for section 106 of the Landscape South Australia
Act 2019 , be required under that Act, the Authority or other
administering agency must, before issuing or varying the order, give notice of
the proposal to the authority under the Landscape South Australia
Act 2019 to whom an application for a permit for the activity would
otherwise have to be made inviting the authority to make written submission in
relation to the proposal within a period specified in the notice.
(2b) The period of the
notice referred to in subsection (2a) must be—
(a) in
the case of an order to confirm an emergency clean-up order—at least
24 hours;
(b) in
all other cases—at least 14 days.
(3) Where an
authorised officer is satisfied that a person has caused environmental harm by
a contravention of this Act or a repealed environment law and is of the
opinion that urgent action is required, the authorised officer may issue an
emergency clean-up order containing requirements of a kind referred to in the
preceding provisions of this section.
(4) An emergency
clean-up order may be issued orally, but, in that event, the person to whom it
is issued must be advised forthwith of the person's right to appeal to the
Environment, Resources and Development Court against the order.
(5) Where an emergency
clean-up order is issued to a person, the order will cease to have effect on
the expiration of 72 hours from the time of its issuing unless confirmed by a
written clean-up order issued by the Authority or another administering agency
and served on the person.
(6) The Authority,
another administering agency or an authorised officer may, if of the opinion
that it is reasonably necessary to do so in the circumstances, include in an
emergency or other clean-up order a requirement for an act or omission that
might otherwise constitute a contravention of this Act and, in that event, a
person incurs no liability to a penalty under this Act for compliance with the
requirement.
(7) Where a
clean-up order has been issued to a person by the Authority or another
administering agency, the Authority or other administering agency (as the case
may be) may, by written notice served on the person, vary or revoke the order.
(8) A person to whom a
clean-up order is issued must comply with the order.
Maximum penalty:
(a) in
the case of a body corporate—$120 000;
(b) in
the case of a natural person—$60 000.
(9) It is not an
excuse for a person to refuse or fail to provide information in response to a
requirement imposed by a clean-up order on the ground that to do so might tend
to incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty.
(10) If compliance by
a prescribed person with a requirement to provide information imposed by a
clean-up order might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable
to a penalty, then the information given in compliance with the requirement 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).