New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST ACT 1998 - SECT 16

16 Special provision for pollution clean-up costs

(1) The Trust may expend money in the Trust Fund on the following--

(a) measures for the removal, dispersal or mitigation of serious pollution, when those measures need to be taken immediately,

(b) measures for the analysis, removal, storage, treatment or disposal of waste material that has been placed or disposed of on premises unlawfully, when no other person accepts responsibility for taking those measures.

(2) The Trust may publish guidelines for the expenditure of money under this section, including guidelines on the measures for which money can be expended, the pollution or waste material in respect of which money can be expended, the circumstances in which the money can be expended and the resolution of disputes about any such expenditure.

(3) The maximum amount that the Trust can expend under this section in any one financial year is $0.5 million.

(4) The Trust (or a person acting with the written authority of the Trust) is entitled to recover the amount of any money expended under this section as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction due to the Trust from the person who caused or was responsible for the pollution or the waste material.

(5) For the purposes of sections 246 and 247 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 , amounts expended from the Trust Fund under this section are taken to be costs and expenses incurred by the Trust as referred to in those sections.

(6) Any amount recovered by or on behalf of the Trust (whether or not under this section) in respect of the cost of measures that have been paid for out of the Trust Fund is to be paid into the Trust Fund.