Queensland Consolidated Acts

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 1994 - SECT 458

458 Order to enter land to conduct investigation or conduct work

(1) An authorised person may apply to a magistrate for an order to enter land—

(a) to carry out work on the land to—

(i) prevent or minimise environmental harm or rehabilitate or restore the land because of an activity carried out under an environmental authority, PRCP schedule, transitional environmental program or site management plan; or

(ii) remediate land managed under a site management plan; or

(iii) secure compliance with—

(A) an agricultural ERA standard, environmental authority, PRCP schedule, transitional environmental program, site management plan or any conditions of the authority, schedule, program or plan; or

(B) development conditions of a development approval; or

(C) a prescribed condition for carrying out a small scale mining activity; or

(b) if the land is land to which a clean-up notice applies and the recipient of the notice has failed to comply with the notice—to take the actions required under the notice; or

(c) if the land is contaminated land—to conduct a site investigation of the land; or

(d) for land particulars of which are recorded in the contaminated land register—to conduct work to remediate the land.

(2) The administering authority must give written notice of the application to—

(a) the owner of the land; and

(b) if the owner is not the occupier of the land—the occupier; and

(c) if the application is for an order to carry out work mentioned in subsection (1) (a) —

(i) the environmental authority holder; or

(ii) the holder of the PRCP schedule; or

(iii) the holder of the transitional environmental program; and

(d) if the application is for an order to take actions required under a clean-up notice—the recipient of the notice.

(3) The application for the order must be sworn and state the grounds on which it is made.

(4) The magistrate may refuse to consider the application until the person gives the magistrate all information the magistrate requires about the application in the way the magistrate requires.

Example—

The magistrate may require additional information supporting the application to be given by statutory declaration.

(5) The magistrate may make an order under this section only if the magistrate is satisfied—

(a) for an order to carry out work mentioned in subsection (1) (a) , the entry sought is reasonable and necessary to carry out the work; or

(b) for an order to take actions required under a clean-up notice, the entry sought is reasonable and necessary to take the actions; or

(c) for an order to enter the land and carry out a site investigation—

(i) the land is listed in the environmental management register because it is contaminated land; and

(ii) the hazardous contaminant contaminating the land is in a concentration that has the potential to cause serious environmental harm; and

(iii) a person, animal or another part of the environment may be exposed to the hazardous contaminant; and

(iv) the entry sought is reasonable and necessary to conduct a site investigation of the land; or

(d) for an order to enter and conduct work to remediate the land—the magistrate is satisfied the land is contaminated and the entry sought is reasonable and necessary to conduct work to remediate the land.

(6) The order must state—

(a) that an authorised person may, with necessary and reasonable help and force, enter the land and conduct the actions, investigation or work to remediate the land; and

(b) the hours of the day when the entry may be made; and

(c) the day when the order ends.

(7) The magistrate must record the reasons for making the order.

(8) In this section—

"land" includes a place to which a clean-up notice applies.