{"id":"environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003","name":"Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Area) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003","slug":"environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176590,"registerId":"wa-environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Area) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nEnvironmental Protection Act 1986\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003\n\nWestern Australia\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Prescribed licence conditions for premises discharging sulfur dioxide 2\n\n5. Repeal 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 3\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nEnvironmental Protection Act 1986\n\nEnvironmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese regulations may be cited as the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese regulations come into operation on the day on which the policy comes into operation.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) In these regulations —\n\npolicy means the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Policy 2003* —\n\n(a) approved under the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Policy Order 2003* (published in *Gazette* 18 March 2003, p. 799‑807); and\n\n(b) confirmed under the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Policy Order (No. 2) 2003* (published in *Gazette* 10 June 2003, p. 2085‑92); and\n\n(c) set out in the Appendix to the order referred to in paragraph (b).\n\n(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, words and expressions defined in clause 2 of the policy and used in these regulations have the same respective meanings as they have in the policy.\n\n[Regulation 3 amended: Gazette 22 Aug 2014 p. 3033.]\n\n##### 4. Prescribed licence conditions for premises discharging sulfur dioxide\n\n(1) For the purposes of section 62(2) of the Act, the condition set out in subregulation (2) is prescribed as a condition that may be attached to a works approval or licence.\n\n(2) The occupier must ensure that the operations on the premises are conducted in such a way as neither to cause, nor to contribute to causing, the maximum sulfur dioxide concentration permitted in the ambient air of a protected area under clause 6 of the policy to be exceeded at any place within the area.\n\n[Regulation 4 amended: Gazette 22 Aug 2014 p. 3034.]\n\n##### 5. Repeal\n\nThe *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulphur Dioxide) Regulations 1992* are repealed.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table*.*\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Gazettal** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003* | 18 Mar 2003 p. 806-7 | 18 Mar 2003 (see r. 2 and *Gazette* 18 Mar 2003 p. 799) |\n| *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Amendment Regulations 2014* | 22 Aug 2014 p. 3033‑4 | r. 1 and 2: 22 Aug 2014 (see r. 2(a));   Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 23 Aug 2014 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\npolicy 3(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow scope. It was always intended as a technical instrument to convert policy standards into licence conditions for sulfur dioxide emissions in the Goldfields region. The 2014 amendment was minor (updating terminology), and the 2003 version replaced the 1992 regulations without expanding the geographic or substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short — only 5 regulations plus notes","Only 1 defined term ('policy') in the regulations themselves","Heavy reliance on external documents — the regulations import definitions and substantive standards from a separate Policy document rather than containing them directly","Single operative provision (regulation 4) creating one licence condition","No nested exceptions, conditional logic, or cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act and the Policy","Straightforward repeal of predecessor instrument"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set a specific air pollution rule for industrial sites in Western Australia's Goldfields region that release sulfur dioxide (SO₂). They require that any factory or mine with a works approval or licence must operate in a way that doesn't cause sulfur dioxide levels to exceed safe limits in nearby residential areas (called \"protected areas\" in the related policy).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Industrial operators** in the Goldfields with licences to discharge sulfur dioxide (typically mining or smelting operations)\n- **Local communities** living in designated protected residential areas near these operations\n- **Environmental regulators** who attach conditions to industrial licences\n\n**How it works:**\n\nThe regulations don't set the actual pollution limits themselves. Instead, they:\n1. **Point to a separate policy document** (the *Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Areas) (Sulfur Dioxide) Policy 2003*) which contains the technical air quality standards\n2. **Create a licence condition** that regulators can attach to approvals, requiring operators to stay under those policy limits\n3. **Replace older regulations** from 1992 (updating the spelling from \"Sulphur\" to \"Sulfur\")\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nSulfur dioxide is a toxic gas that can cause breathing problems, especially for children, elderly people, and those with asthma. The Goldfields region has significant mining activity that can release this gas. These regulations create a legal mechanism to protect residential communities by making it a licence condition that operators cannot exceed safe air quality standards in nearby towns.\n\nThe regulations act as a bridge — they turn the technical standards in the Policy into enforceable licence conditions under the *Environmental Protection Act 1986*."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient information is available to assess whether the scope of this regulation changed from its original intent. The full text of the legislation is inaccessible. Based on the title alone, the regulation appears to have been narrowly scoped to sulfur dioxide pollution controls in the Goldfields residential area of Western Australia, which is consistent with what a targeted environmental protection instrument of this kind would typically do."},"complexity_factors":["The actual legislative text is unavailable — analysis is based solely on the title and contextual inference","Environmental regulations involving technical standards (like pollutant concentration limits) can carry moderate technical complexity","Regulations of this type typically interact with parent legislation (the Environmental Protection Act 1986 WA), adding a layer of legal cross-referencing","The limited information available makes it impossible to assess true complexity — the score reflects the low information available, not necessarily the regulation itself"],"plain_english_summary":"The Environmental Protection (Goldfields Residential Area) (Sulfur Dioxide) Regulations 2003—made under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA)—set rules on sulfur dioxide air quality for residential parts of the Goldfields. They would have limited industrial SO₂ emissions to protect residents and imposed obligations on nearby businesses and operators. If you live, work or operate in the Goldfields, these rules (or their current replacement) affect legally permitted emissions near homes and workplaces."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations continue the targeted regulatory scope of limiting sulfur dioxide impacts in Goldfields residential areas by prescribing a licence condition tied to the policy’s maximum ambient concentration and by repealing the 1992 regulations. They maintain the same subject-matter focus (control of SO2 emissions affecting protected areas) rather than expanding to new activities or pollutants (see Regs 3–5)."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy reliance on an external policy for key limits and definitions (Reg 3; references clause 6 of the policy).","Legal effect is simple but enforcement depends on licensing discretion and ambient air measurement methods (Reg 4(1)–(2)).","Commencement tied to the separate policy's commencement, adding a sequencing dependency (Reg 2).","Short instrument with cross-references rather than standalone standards increases interpretive work for regulators and operators (Reg 3–4).","Repeal of prior 1992 regulations may require transitional interpretation for existing licences (Reg 5).","Implied compliance costs and monitoring burden fall on occupiers (Reg 4(2)); the regs do not detail measurement, reporting, or penalty mechanisms."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations prescribe a licence condition requiring occupiers of premises that discharge sulfur dioxide to operate so they do not cause or contribute to exceeding the maximum ambient SO2 concentration for protected Goldfields residential areas set in the referenced policy (r.4(2); r.3).\n\nThe condition attaches to works approvals and licences under the Environmental Protection Act, creates a direct compliance obligation for operators in those protected areas, and repeals the 1992 regulations (r.5)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003","history":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/environmental-protection-goldfields-residential-area-sulfur-dioxide-regulations-2003/documents"}}