32Notification of reportable incidents

32 Notification of reportable incidents

(1)  An operator must give notice to the Minister, in accordance with this regulation, of an incident, arising from a petroleum activity, that in the opinion of the operator is causing, or may cause, moderate to significant environmental damage.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 40 penalty units.

(2)  A notice under subregulation (1)  must –

(a) be given orally; and

(b) be given as soon as practicable, but not later than 2 hours after – 

(i) the time when the reportable incident first occurs; or

(ii) if the operator did not detect the reportable incident when it first occurred, the time when the operator became aware of the reportable incident; and

(c) contain details of the – 

(i) material facts and circumstances relating to the reportable incident that the operator knows or is able, by reasonable search and enquiry, to find out; and

(ii) actions taken by the operator to avoid or mitigate any adverse environmental impact of the reportable incident; and

(iii) corrective actions taken, or proposed to be taken, by the operator to prevent a similar reportable incident.

(3)  An operator must, as soon as practicable after giving a notice under subregulation (1) , give a written record of that notice to the Minister.

(4)  A written record under subregulation (3) in respect of a reportable incident is not required to contain any matter that was not included in the notice given to the Minister under subregulation (1) in respect of the incident.