Environmental Law in New South Wales Research Paper

Introduction

It is doubtless that the natural environment plays a major role in supporting human life. This is mainly based on the fact that most of what is needed by human beings can be obtained from the environment directly or indirectly. As a result, there is continuous pressure on the environment, which has significantly contributed to pollution and environmental degradation. These challenges have seen countries and states around the world enact laws, aimed at protecting the environment. Even though some of these have been remarkable in curbing environmental pollution, it is evident that this war is not yet won.¹

Environmental protection calls for individual and collective responsibility, where everybody is involved through public awareness. Due to ever-changing issues, most of the laws governing environmental conservation and protection have undergone numerous reviews to make them applicable in confronting major issues. This research paper focuses on environmental protection laws in New South Wales. To achieve this target, the analysis will cover a wide range of issues, which affect environmental protection in Australia.

Environmental Protection

Although different scholars and authors define environmental protection variedly, it is universally described as the general practice of taking care of the environment at different levels, including organizational, individual, and governmental. The need for these efforts is based on continuous degradation of the environment, which is spread as a result of technology and population pressure.² Unfortunately, some of these changes are irreversible, thus threatening the sustainability of the natural environment. Nonetheless, most of these have been noticed by several governments around the world, and have launched initiatives to address the problem. On the other hand, some environmental agencies believe that leaders have not shown enough commitment to addressing the problem of environmental pollution in most countries around the world.

The most important aspect of environmental protection is the use of laws, which define the interaction between human beings and the natural environment. These definitions further give penalties for those who are found guilty of polluting the environment. On an international scale, there are laws, which govern the manner in which countries interact with the environment, without affecting other nations. These regulations are usually ratified as treaties and are supposed to be respected by both parties involved.³

For effective environmental protection, most countries have embarked on environmental public awareness, through educational programs, workshops, and training of practitioners. Through environmental studies, students are equipped with skills, which are paramount in protecting the environment from various forms of pollution. Common issues, which are featured in such sessions include, loss of biodiversity, air pollution, and emission of waste products to the environment. Environmental practitioners believe that environmental protection is mainly affected by intertwined factors like education, legislation, and general ethics.⁴ In essence, each of these elements has a role in influencing people at a national or personal level. It has been found that no society can excel in environmental protection without addressing the three areas.

Environmental Law

From a general point of view, environmental law ensures that the environment is well protected from the negative effects of human activities. In this context, “environment” denotes all spheres of the natural environment, which encompasses air, fauna, flora, water, and land. Importantly, the human environment is also inclusive of these spheres and may comprise all forms of cultural and built heritage. Since everybody is affected by the natural environment or has the potential of polluting it, it is necessary to have protective laws at all levels of governance.⁵ These levels may include, local, state, national, and international. Moreover, environmental law is a wide concept and covers an array of topics like pollution management, environmental planning, conservation, and biodiversity management among others.

Functions of Environmental Law

Even though the main purpose of environmental laws is to manage human activities and prevent them from harming the natural environment, these laws are wide and regulate a wide range of people’s activities. In Australia, these laws are used to develop functional structures for environmental management and regulatory purposes. Similarly, these statutes are essential in simplifying the work of regulators through policies and recognized standards.⁶ This ensures that there is no contradiction between law enforcers and the public. Additionally, the law ensures that there is formal approval before major activities, which may have an impact on the environment are carried out.

Of great significance is the fact that these regulations allow public involvement in planning and assessment of the natural environment, through submissions. Furthermore, environmental impact assessment requires all activities with environmental significance to be assessed before permission is granted to the person or the company involved. Like other laws in the world, environmental laws define penalties for the breach of the law. These penalties may include civic, administrative, and criminal.⁷ On the other hand, the land and environment court give an opportunity to the public to challenge regulators on some issues like decisions made and the achievements realized.

Environmental Laws in Australia

Like almost every country around the world, Australia has enacted laws, which are essential in protecting its environment. Importantly, environmental laws are considered to be relatively new in Australian history, with the first legislation having been enacted in the 1970s.⁸ However, several statutes have been adopted, to regulate man’s actions, which harm the environment. This is believed to be a continuous process because of varying environmental issues that emerge every day, and have to be addressed by the government.

It is worth noting that Australia is highly recognized for its fascinating environment. It has a stable national economy and a commendable standard of living for most of its citizens across different jurisdictions. For Australia to maintain these standards and its reputation on the global map, it needs laws, which guard the environment against harmful human activities. As a result, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, is recognized as the backbone of environmental protection in the country.⁹ Upon its enactment, the Australian government was given legal power to take control of all issues surrounding environmental protection in the country. There are several reforms, which have been implemented throughout the last decade to address emerging issues in the country and around the world. The new approach to environmental protection is believed to have priceless benefits to all the segments of the country’s economy. Through these reforms, Australia will be able to establish a foundation for a healthy environment and for the wellbeing of its people. Additionally, proper environmental protection ensures that the country maintains good relationships between the government, the public, and the industry. Above all, the government is committed to working with different states and territories to allow the proper implementation of these regulations.

Legislation and Compliance in NSW

There are several environmental laws in New South Wales, which are essential in protecting the environment and ensuring that business owners comply with set rules and regulations. Importantly, these laws are based on the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO). The act covers various segments, including but not limited to waste, water, air, land, and noise management. In addition, some of the laws carry hefty penalties for those who are found breaching them. In cases where someone has been taken to court for breaking the law, the prosecutor may not be compelled to have evidence against the accused that he or she had the intention of polluting the environment.¹⁰ In some cases, a person can be prosecuted for causing an accident, which is harmful to the environment. With regard to business, every person involved in any form of business is required to be aware of rules and regulations, which govern a given business.

By taking precautions and control measures, one is able to lower the chances of committing an offense. Business owners are therefore encouraged to have an understanding of existing laws, to lower the risk of breaking rules and incurring losses through penalties. In cases where a company breaks environmental laws, senior leaders of the firm, like managers and directors are usually held responsible for the damage caused.¹¹ However, they can be set free if they had taken all precautions to prevent breaching the POEO Act. Additionally, company leaders cannot be liable for the environmental damage if they lacked influence over the company, with regard to the infringement of the law. However, a lack of knowledge about the existence of environmental laws cannot be used as a defense for the accused.

Water Pollution

According to the POEO Act, it is illegal for a person to cause or allow contamination of water. The act describes water pollution in terms of introducing water pollutants or placing the pollutants in areas where they can easily be washed into water bodies like rivers, lakes, oceans, and dams. Individuals who pollute water and contravene POEO Act are likely to be fined up to $250,000, while companies can be fined up to 1,000,000. Alternatively, the act allows instant fines of $750 and $1500 for individuals and companies respectively. It is, therefore, necessary for people to implement measures, which prevent pollutants from contaminating clean water bodies.¹² Some of these measures include the prevention of spills and the proper use of chemicals. In addition, chemical wastes should not be allowed to mix with clean water.

Air pollution

According to POEO Act, air pollution refers to the emission of pollutants into the air. Some of these include gases, odors, fumes, and volatile organic compounds. As a result, business owners are required to handle these impurities in accordance with the law to avoid penalties.¹³ On the other hand, environmental law in New South Wales prohibits citizens from polluting land, which is either public or private. It is also illegal for a person to allow pollutants to leak in a manner that affects the quality of the natural environment.

Hazardous materials and waste

All hazardous substances are supposed to be handled in a manner, which does not allow them from harming the environment. For this reason, it is important to observe legal requirements before transporting, using, or disposing of materials, which are considered to be harmful to the environment. Chemicals and dangerous goods are common examples of these materials. Importantly, the law is applied may differ, depending on the number of chemicals being involved.¹⁴ Additionally, tracking harmful waste products is important to allow quick measures in the event there is an accident or the hazardous products are exposed to the natural environment in any way. Due to the advancement in technology, it is possible to monitor waste products online, during transportation. Replacement of hazardous materials is highly recommended to minimize the interaction between waste and the environment. Additionally, work practices, which do not utilize these products, are usually more preferred to allow their instant disposal.

Noise Regulation

Sections 139 and 140 prohibit people from allowing the production of noise from their premises due to poor maintenance and improper use of materials. Besides this requirement, the law allows regulators to issue orders, requiring a person or a company to minimize the amount of noise being produced from a given premise. In general, offensive noise interferes with the comfort of people within a given neighborhood.¹⁵

Changing Nature of Environmental Law

There have been calls to change the environmental law in NSW in recent years. Opponents of the law argue that it can be compared to a jigsaw, as some of the sections are missing while others have been duplicated. This segment focuses on some of the reasons, which have been used to justify the need for change in the laws, which govern environmental protection in Australia. While these laws are seen to be less effective, the role of biodiversity has not yet changed. It is believed that a healthy natural environment can only be realized when biodiversity is well-maintained. This concept is important for promoting a sustainable country.¹⁶ Secondly, healthy ecosystems play a major role in supporting life in NSW and around the country. There is a need to maintain healthy soil for the purpose of producing food that is necessary for human consumption. Another important role that a healthy environment plays is serving as a source for building materials and products. Similarly, extinction of biodiversity affects the survival of important and rare species of the population. This is because of their reduced potential for them to provide a wide range of services.

Recent changes

Analysts believe that issues of environmental management have continued to expand and become complex in NSW and other parts of Australia. On the other hand, the country’s environmental health faces an array of issues, which have contributed to its decline in most key areas. Based on these, practitioners believe that the time for major changes in the sector has come.¹⁷ As a way of implementing environmental change in the country, the focus of environmental law has shifted from protection to management, coupled with proactive measures aimed at streamlining efforts towards a healthy environment. In order to realize these, environmental law has been expanded to allow different arms of governance to offer effective services in their areas of jurisdiction.

While there are stronger environmental laws in Australia, there is a need for stakeholders to move from discussing the meaning of sustainability to its application in the context of promoting a healthy environment. Despite the fact that serious changes have been implemented to strengthen environmental growth and protection, issues of public participation face an array of challenges. In essence, it can be argued that public interest in environmental law in NSW has gone through three major phases. These are a quest for better outcomes, systematic access to justice, and improved access to justice. Importantly, efforts to have procedural access to justice in NSW began in 1979, through the establishment of a specialist court.¹⁸ This was realized after several acts were ratified, giving way to the involvement of the public in legal matters surrounding environment management.

Benefits of Environmental Reforms

As mentioned before, there are reforms, which have been proposed to make environmental laws to be relevant in addressing current issues, affecting the environment. It is obvious that these reforms will result in a healthy environment, which supports life and does not expose plants and animals to any form of harm. This can only be achieved if practitioners move from being reactive to a proactive state. Additionally, several projects ought to be considered collectively on a regional scale as opposed to individual analysis, which makes it hard to determine the cumulative impact of these projects on the environment.¹⁹ Accordingly, ecosystem-scale management seeks to conserve the environment holistically by ensuring that habitats are protected, together with plants and animals that depend on them for their survival. This equally happens without compromising the social and economic needs of society.

New policies

It is important to note that Australia is a habitat for several plants and animals, which are not found in any other country around the world, despite the fact that it has lost a significant percentage of its biodiversity. Additionally, the country enjoys a wide range of freshwater and land ecosystems, which have remained crucial to the country’s natural environment. The country’s northern and southern regions experience tropical and cool-temperate climate respectively, giving it flexible conditions, which favor the survival of most plants and animals. For the country to realize its full potential in managing its natural environment, it needs a more integrated approach. This can only be realized through a better Australian Government Biodiversity Policy in order to confront major issues, which face environmental conservation efforts. Through this, the country will have to appreciate its role as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity.²⁰This will also underpin the government’s role in environmental conservation in conjunction with territory and state governments. Moreover, the implementation of the new policy will ensure that existing management initiatives are complemented through several conservation plans. Unlike other approaches, this plan allows the government to take regulatory measures to conserve the environment as defined by the environmental law.

Bibliography

Anton, Donald and Dinah Shelton, Environmental Protection and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, London, 2011).

Bonyhady, Tim, ‘How Australia once led the World’ (2010) 54 Monash University Law Review 36.

Clarke, Pepe, Environmental Law Toolkit–NSW: A Community Guide to Environmental Law (Federation Press, Sydney, 2005).

Farrier, David and Paul Stein, The Environmental Law Handbook: Planning and Land use in New South Wales (Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 2011).

Lyster, Rosemary, Zada Lipman and Nicola Franklin, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales (Federation Press, Sydney, 2007).

Peel, Jacqueline, ‘Interpretation and Application of the Precautionary Principle: Australia’s Contribution’ (2009) 11 Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 18.

Sands, Philippe and Jacqueline Peel, Principles of International Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press, London, 2012).

Footnotes

1. David Farrier and Paul Stein, The Environmental Law Handbook: Planning and Land use in New South Wales, (Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 2011) 2.
2. Ibid.
3. Donald Anton and Dinah Shelton, Environmental Protection and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, London, 2011). 1.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid 2.
6. Rosemary Lyster, Zada Lipman and Nicola Franklin, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales (Federation Press, Sydney, 2007). 21
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Philippe Sands and Jacqueline Peel, Principles of International Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press, London, 2012) 70.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Pepe Clarke, Environmental Law Toolkit–NSW: A Community Guide to Environmental Law (Federation Press, Sydney, 2005) 2.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Tim Bonyhady, ‘How Australia once led the World’ (2010) 54 Monash University Law Review 36, 55.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Jacqueline Peel, ‘Interpretation and Application of the Precautionary Principle: Australia’s Contribution’ (2009) 11 Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 18, 12.
20. Ibid.