47Action on non-compliance with environment protection notice

47 Action on non-compliance with environment protection notice

(1)  [Section 47 Subsection (1) substituted by No. 56 of 2000, s. 25, Applied:14 Jul 2000] The Director or, in the case of an environment protection notice served by a council officer, the council may take any action required by an environment protection notice if the requirements of the notice are not complied with within –

(a) the period specified in the notice under section 44(3)(d)(iii) ; or

(b) if a period is not so specified in the notice, a reasonable time.

(1A)  [Section 47 Subsection (1A) inserted by No. 56 of 2000, s. 25, Applied:14 Jul 2000] In determining what is a reasonable time for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) , regard must be had to –

(a) the seriousness of the environmental harm that has occurred or is likely to occur as a result of the act or omission which is the subject of the environment protection notice; and

(b) the type of measures the environment protection notice requires the person on whom it is served to undertake to prevent, control, reduce or remediate that environmental harm and the degree of difficulty that person is likely to have in undertaking and completing those measures.

(2)  Any action to be taken under subsection (1) may be taken –

(a) on the Director's behalf, by authorized officers; and

(b) on the council's behalf, by council officers.

(3)  The reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Director or a council in taking action under this section may be recovered by the Director or the council as a debt from the person who failed to comply with the requirements of the environment protection notice.

(4)  Where an amount is recoverable from a person under this section, the Director or the council may, by notice in writing to the person, fix a period, being not less than 28 days from the date of the notice, within which the amount must be paid by the person.