containment structure means a structure in a waste water treatment system in which waste water is contained;
existing facility means any premises being used as an abattoir immediately before the day on which these regulations come into operation;
operator means a person who operates an abattoir;
save-all means a tank where greases and oils are collected by settlement or flotation;
slaughterhouse means any building on an abattoir in which animals are slaughtered;
treated waste water means water that has been treated in a waste water treatment system;
treated waste water irrigation management plan means a treated waste water irrigation management plan approved under regulation 14;
waste water treatment system means the system used for treating waste water from the operations of an abattoir.
3. Application
These regulations apply to an abattoir if the production or design capacity of the abattoir is —
(a) more than 100 tonnes per year; and
(b) less than 1 000 tonnes per year.
[Regulation 3 inserted: Gazette 8 May 2012 p. 1892.]
Part 2 — Control of dust
4. No emission of visible dust from abattoirs during operation or construction
(1) An operator must not carry on the operations of an abattoir unless it is carried on in such a manner that no visible dust escapes from the abattoir.
(2) A person constructing an abattoir must ensure that no visible dust escapes from the premises on which the abattoir is being constructed during the course of the construction.
Part 3 — Disposal of dead animals
5. Disposal of dead animals
Unless otherwise directed by a public body under a written law, an operator must ensure that any dead animal on the abattoir that has not been slaughtered on it is within 24 hours after the operator becoming aware of its death —
(a) taken to a rendering facility;
(b) taken to a waste disposal facility; or
(c) disposed of in a manner approved by the Chief Executive Officer.
Part 4 — Drainage and the collection of waste materials
6. Design of lairage pens, raceways, and solid waste storage areas
An operator must ensure that waste water from —
(a) lairage pens at the abattoir;
(b) raceways from a lairage pen to a slaughterhouse at the abattoir; or
(c) a solid waste storage area at the abattoir,
is drained to the waste water treatment system.
7. Drainage or discharge from a slaughterhouse
(1) An operator must ensure that the drainage system from the slaughterhouse at the abattoir to the waste water treatment system does not become blocked with solids.
(2) An operator must ensure that water from the floors of the slaughterhouse is treated by means of a bucket trap, save-all, screen, or other device to remove solids, greases, and oils in or from the water before the water is discharged into the waste water treatment system.
8. Drainage of floors of bleeding area
The owner of an abattoir to which these regulations apply (other than an existing facility) must ensure that the perimeter of the floor of the bleeding area of a slaughterhouse is constructed so as to ensure that blood or other liquid is removed from the area by drains or dedicated collection devices.
9. Storage of waste material
An operator must ensure that —
(a) material from the paunch of animals slaughtered at the abattoir is stored in water and vermin proof and water tight containers; and
(b) dung and manure storage areas are made of an impervious material and have bunds made of an impervious material which are of sufficient height to contain the leachate.
Part 5 — Waste water treatment
10. Uncontaminated storm water not to enter waste water treatment system
An operator must ensure that storm water on the abattoir which is not contaminated with solids, grease, oils, or other materials from the process of slaughtering animals does not enter the waste water treatment system.
11. Treatment of contaminated water from lairage pens
An operator must ensure that water from the lairage pens of the abattoir is screened or otherwise treated to remove solids in the water before the water is discharged into the waste water treatment system.
12. Disposal of solids
An operator must ensure that all solid waste from the operations at the abattoir is taken to —
(a) a rendering facility;
(b) premises on which compost manufacturing and soil blending is carried out;
(c) a waste disposal facility; or
(d) a disposal facility approved by the Chief Executive Officer.
13. Waste water treatment structures
An operator must ensure that —
(a) except in the case of an existing facility, a containment structure at the abattoir is impermeable;
(b) a containment structure at the abattoir is operated so that there is a distance of not less than 300 mm between any point on the perimeter of the top of the structure and the surface of the water in the structure;
(c) a crust or cover is maintained over an anaerobic treatment process used in a waste water treatment system;
(d) in the case of a waste water treatment system which uses a pond, waste water is retained in the pond for not less than 15 days; and
(e) the waste water treatment system is managed so as to ensure that an unreasonable odour does not escape from the abattoir.
14. Treated waste water irrigation management plan
An operator must not use treated waste water for irrigation unless a treated waste water irrigation management plan has been submitted to and approved by the Chief Executive Officer and the treated waste water is used in accordance with the plan.
Part 6 — Miscellaneous
15. Offences and penalties
A person who contravenes any of these regulations commits an offence.
Penalty: $5 000.
16. Transitional
Regulation 14 does not apply in relation to an existing facility until the day that is 12 months after the day on which these regulations come into operation.
17. Amendment of the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987
Schedule 6 to the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 is amended after item 25 of the entry relating to the Environmental Protection (Concrete Batching and Cement Product Manufacturing) Regulations 1998 by inserting the following —
This is a compilation of the Environmental Protection (Abattoirs) Regulations 2001 and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.