Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000

This

Act may be cited as the Nuclear

Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000.

The objects of this Act are to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of South Australia and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this State.

In this Act—

Code of Practice means the Code of Practice for the Near-Surface Disposal of Radioactive Waste in

Australia (1992) approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council and published by the Australian Government Publishing Service as

Radiation Health Series No. 35 (ISBN 0 644 28673 3);

environmental harm has the same meaning as in the Environment

Protection Act 1993;

ionizing radiation has the same meaning as in the Radiation

Protection and Control Act 1982;

nuclear waste means—

Category

A, Category B or Category C radioactive waste as defined in the Code of Practice; or

any waste material that contains a radioactive substance and is derived from—

the operations or decommissioning of—

a nuclear reactor; or

a nuclear weapons facility; or

a radioisotope production facility; or

a uranium enrichment plant; or

the testing, use or decommissioning of nuclear weapons; or

the conditioning or reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel;

nuclear waste storage facility means any installation for the storage or disposal of nuclear waste;

public authority has the same meaning as in the Environment

Protection Act 1993;

radioactive substance means any substance that spontaneously emits ionizing radiation.

This

Act binds the Crown in right of the State and, in so far as the legislative power of the State permits, in all its other capacities.

This

Act does not apply in relation to—

nuclear waste lawfully stored in the State before the commencement of this

Act; or

nuclear waste—

from radioactive material that has been used or handled in accordance with the Radiation

Protection and Control Act 1982 pursuant to a licence, permit or other authority granted under that

Act; and

the storage or disposal of which has been authorised by or under that

Act.

This

Act has effect despite any other Act or law.

A person must not construct or operate a nuclear waste storage facility.

Maximum penalty:

In the case of a natural person—$500 000 or imprisonment for 10 years.

In the case of a body corporate—$5 000 000.

A person must not—

bring nuclear waste into the State; or

transport nuclear waste within the State, for delivery to a nuclear waste storage facility in the State.

Maximum penalty:

In the case of a natural person—$500 000 or imprisonment for 10 years.

In the case of a body corporate—$5 000 000.

If a body corporate is guilty of an offence against this Act, each person who is a director of the body corporate or a person concerned in the management of the body corporate is guilty of an offence and liable to the same penalty as is prescribed for the principal offence when committed by a natural person unless it is proved that the person could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have prevented the commission of the offence by the body corporate.

A person referred to in subsection (1) may be prosecuted and convicted of an offence against that subsection whether or not the body corporate has been prosecuted or convicted of the principal offence committed by the body corporate.

A public authority may do one or more of the following:

remove a nuclear waste storage facility constructed or operated in contravention of this Act;

make good any environmental harm resulting from the construction or operation of that facility;

prevent or mitigate any future environmental harm resulting from the construction or operation of that facility.

If, in proceedings for an offence against this Act, the court finds the defendant guilty of a contravention of this Act, the court may, in addition to any penalty it may impose, do one or more of the following:

order the defendant to take specified action to—

remove a nuclear waste storage facility constructed or operated in contravention of this Act;

make good any environmental harm resulting from the construction or operation of that facility;

prevent or mitigate any future environmental harm resulting from the construction or operation of that facility;

order the defendant to take specified action to publicise the contravention and its environmental and other consequences and any other orders made against the defendant;

order the defendant to pay—

to a public authority that has incurred costs or expenses in taking action of a kind referred to in section 11 as a result of the contravention; and

to any person who has suffered injury or loss or damage to property as a result of the contravention, or incurred costs or expenses in taking action to prevent or mitigate such injury, loss or damage, the reasonable costs and expenses so incurred, or compensation for the injury, loss or damage so suffered, as the case may be, in such amount as is determined by the court.

The court may, by an order under this section, fix a period for compliance and impose any other requirements the court considers necessary or expedient for enforcement of the order.

Despite any other Act or law to the contrary, no public money may be appropriated, expended or advanced to any person for the purpose of encouraging or financing any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State.

Subsection (1) does not prohibit the appropriation, expenditure or advancement to a person of public money for the purpose of financing the maintenance or sharing of information or to enable the State to engage with other jurisdictions.