Hunter Water (Special Areas) Regulation 2003 (NSW)

His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, has made the following Regulation under the Hunter Water Act 1991.

Minister for Land and Water Conservation

Part 1Preliminary1Name of Regulation

This Regulation is the Hunter Water (Special Areas) Regulation 2003.

2Commencement

This Regulation commences on 1 March 2003.

3Definitions

In this Regulation:

Chichester Catchment Area means the area described in a proclamation under the Hunter District Water and Sewerage Act 1892 published in Gazette No 153 of 5 December 1924 at page 5461, being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 1.

development consent means a development consent in force under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

environment protection licence means an environment protection licence in force under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Grahamstown Catchment Area means the area described in the following instruments:

• (a)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 98 of 11 October 1963 at pages 2984 and 2985,

• (b)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 112 of 8 November 1963 at pages 3324 and 3325,

being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 2 and the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 6.

Nelson Bay Catchment Area means the area described in the following instruments:

• (a)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 2 of 7 January 1949 at pages 10 and 11,

• (b)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 106 of 1 November 1963 at pages 3189 and 3190,

• (c)

  a proclamation under the Water Supply Authorities Act 1987 published in Gazette No 159 of 21 October 1988 at page 5485,

being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 3.

North Stockton Catchment Area means the area of land described in, and declared to be a special area by, the Hunter Water (North Stockton Catchment Area) Order 1999 made under section 53 of the Act, being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 4.

the Act means the Hunter Water Act 1991.

Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area means the area described in the following instruments:

• (a)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 89 of 11 July 1941 at pages 2482 and 2483,

• (b)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 100 of 28 September 1945 at page 1703,

• (c)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 31 of 21 March 1958 at page 734,

• (d)

  a proclamation under the Hunter District Water Sewerage and Drainage Act 1938 published in Gazette No 91 of 25 August 1961 at page 2559,

being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 5.

Williams River Catchment Area means the land described in the proclamation referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of Grahamstown Catchment Area, being the land shown by hatched edging on the map in Schedule 6.

4Application of Regulation

This Regulation applies to the following catchment areas:

• (a)

  Chichester Catchment Area,

• (b)

  Grahamstown Catchment Area (including the Williams River Catchment Area),

• (c)

  Nelson Bay Catchment Area,

• (d)

  North Stockton Catchment Area,

• (e)

  Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area.

Note—

The Chichester, Grahamstown (including the Williams River), Nelson Bay and Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Areas are all taken to be special areas by virtue of section 53 (3) of the Act.

5Notes

Notes in the text of this Regulation do not form part of this Regulation.

Part 2Special areas generally6Application of Part(1)

This Part applies to the Chichester, Grahamstown, Nelson Bay, North Stockton and Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Areas, but does not apply to the Williams River Catchment Area.

(2)

Despite subclause (1), clause 9 applies to the Williams River Catchment Area.

7Agriculture(1)

A person must not engage in any intensive agricultural pursuit in a special area.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 70 penalty units in any other case.

(2)

This clause does not apply to anything that is done in accordance with:

• (a)

  an approval given by the Director-General, or

• (b)

  a development consent, or

• (c)

  an environment protection licence.

(3)

In this clause:

intensive agricultural pursuit means the use of land for agricultural purposes which include market gardening, mushroom growing, fruit growing, flower growing, viticulture, milking in a shed designed for that purpose, aquaculture and intensive animal husbandry, but does not include the use of an animal boarding or training establishment or any cultivation or husbandry carried out mainly for the personal enjoyment or consumption of its produce by the owner or occupier of the land.

intensive animal husbandry means the use of a building or place for the commercial breeding, boarding or nurturing, by a feeding method other than natural grazing, of livestock or poultry.

8Sewage disposal

The owner or occupier of land in a special area must not erect, install or operate any on-site sewage management facility on the land unless the person concerned does so in accordance with:

• (a)

  a development consent, or

• (b)

  an approval granted under the Local Government Act 1993, or

• (c)

  an environment protection licence.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 70 penalty units in any other case.

9Pollution of waters(1)

A person must not pollute any waters in a special area.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 100 penalty units in any other case.

(2)

A person does not commit an offence under subclause (1) in respect of anything that is done in accordance with an environment protection licence.

(3)

The Director-General may give a direction for:

• (a)

  the management or disposal of any substance in a special area that the Director-General considers may detrimentally affect any waters in the Area concerned, or

• (b)

  the removal of any such substance from a special area or the relocation of the substance to another place in that Area.

(4)

A person given a direction under subclause (3) must comply with it.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 50 penalty units in any other case.

(5)

In this clause:

pollute, in relation to waters, has the same meaning as pollution of waters has in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, but extends to include disturbing geological or other matter (whether natural or artificial) in such a manner as to change, or to be likely to change, the physical, chemical or biological condition of the waters.

Note—

Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1987 provides that, if an Act or instrument defines a word or expression, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of the word or expression have corresponding meanings.

waters has the same meaning as it has in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Part 3Chichester and Grahamstown Catchment Areas10Application of Part

This Part applies to the Chichester and Grahamstown Catchment Areas, but does not apply to the Williams River Catchment Area.

11Water activities in the Chichester and Grahamstown Storage Reservoirs

A person must not:

• (a)

  enter or bathe, swim, fish or use a boat or any other water craft in the Chichester or Grahamstown Storage Reservoirs, or

• (b)

  allow any other person, or any animal in the person’s control, to enter or bathe or swim in either of those reservoirs, or

• (c)

  allow any other person to fish or use a boat or any other water craft in either of those reservoirs,

otherwise than in accordance with an approval given by the Director-General.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 100 penalty units in any other case.

Part 4Nelson Bay, North Stockton and Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Areas12Application of Part

This Part applies to the Nelson Bay, North Stockton and Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Areas.

13Extractive industries(1)

A person must not engage in any extractive industry in the Nelson Bay, North Stockton or Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area otherwise than in accordance with an approval given by the Director-General.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 100 penalty units in any other case.

(2)

In this clause:

extractive industry includes mining and any other disturbance of geologic material for the extraction of minerals or other geological constituents.

Part 5Williams River Catchment Area14Application of Part

This Part applies to the Williams River Catchment Area.

15Water activities near the Seaham Weir in the Williams River

A person must not:

• (a)

  use a boat or any other water craft in the Williams River, or

• (b)

  allow any other person to use a boat or any other water craft in the Williams River,

within 2.5 kilometres upstream, or 0.5 kilometres downstream, of the Seaham Weir, otherwise than in accordance with an approval given by the Director-General.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 100 penalty units in any other case.

Part 6Miscellaneous16Approvals given by Director-General(1)

An approval given by the Director-General for the purposes of this Regulation is to be in writing, may be given unconditionally or subject to conditions and may be varied or revoked by the Director-General (by written notice served on the holder of the approval) at any time and for any reason.

(2)

In exercising any function with respect to the giving, variation or revocation of an approval in connection with any special area, the Director-General must have primary regard to the need to prevent water in the special area from becoming polluted or contaminated.

17Notices by public agencies

For the purposes of section 55 (1) of the Act, the notice to be given to the Director-General:

• (a)

  must be in writing, and

• (b)

  must be served on the Director-General, either by post or by lodging it at an office of the Department of Land and Water Conservation, and

• (c)

  must contain a full description of the function that is intended to be exercised and of any proposed activity associated with the exercise of that function (together with a statement of the objectives of the proposed activity).

18Repeal and savings(1)

The Hunter Water (Special Areas) Regulation 1997 is repealed.

(2)

Any act, matter or thing that, immediately before the repeal of the Hunter Water (Special Areas) Regulation 1997, had effect under that Regulation continues to have effect under this Regulation.

Schedule 1Chichester Catchment Area

(Clause 3)

Schedule 2Grahamstown Catchment Area

(Clause 3)

Schedule 3Nelson Bay Catchment Area

(Clause 3)

Schedule 4North Stockton Catchment Area

(Clause 3)

Schedule 5Tomago Sandbeds Catchment Area

(Clause 3)

Schedule 6Williams River Catchment Area

(Clause 3)