Section 319B - Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 - Public warning statements

319BPublic warning statements

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319B Public warning statements

(1) The EPA may make or issue a public statement identifying, and giving warnings or information about, the following—

(a) substances or activities the EPA reasonably suspects of contributing to a pollution incident, including details about the providers of the substances or activities,

(b) an activity the EPA reasonably suspects is being carried out in an environmentally unsatisfactory way, including details about the provider of the activity,

(c) an activity, person, substance or other matter that, in the EPA’s opinion, is of environmental concern, including if the EPA suspects there is a potential risk of harm to human health or the environment,

Examples—

warning against acquiring free fill material from unknown sources and warning not to accept fill material from a particular person in response to offers on social media or from a particular phone number

(d) regulatory action taken against a person, including specifying the nature of the regulatory action and, if the person is a corporation, identifying the directors of the corporation and any related body corporate,

(e) complaints received by the EPA under environment protection legislation in relation to a matter,

(f) anything relevant to the administration of this Act or the regulations and protecting the environment.

(2) The statement may do any of the following—

(a) identify a particular individual or corporation, including any known aliases of the individual or corporation,

(b) identify a particular business practice, service, material or product, including waste,

(c) identify a specific substance, including by referring to the brand name of a substance,

Example—

identifying contaminated fill material by the name the material is sold as from a landscaping company

(d) specify information about a substance or activity, including the basis on which the EPA suspects the substance or activity has contributed to a pollution incident or may pose a risk of harm to human health or the environment and warnings or advice for minimising the risk,

(e) specify particular locations or premises,