EPA Prosecution Guidelines - Section A1
Department of Environment and Conservation
A1.1 On 24 September 2003, the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was created, bringing together the staff of:
- the EPA
- the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)
- Resource NSW
- The Royal Botanical Gardens and Domain Trust.
A1.2 The Director-General of DEC manages the affairs of the EPA and was also appointed as the Chief Executive of the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA).
A1.3 Notwithstanding the creation of DEC, the EPA remains a statutory body established under the Administration Act. The EPA and the EPA Board retain all the functions and powers they had prior to the creation of DEC.
A1.4 Some of DEC's and SCA's operational activities will be regulated under the environment protection legislation administered by the EPA. For example, the former NPWS (now DEC) holds a number of licences issued under the environment protection legislation. These operational activities will continue to be actively regulated by the EPA. To ensure that the EPA is accountable in this regard, the EPA Board will oversee regulation of DEC and SCA activities. It will receive quarterly reports from the EPA in relation to the EPA's regulation of DEC and SCA activities. The reports will detail compliance and enforcement action taken by the EPA, including:
- incident response and site inspections of DEC and SCA premises;
- follow up by the EPA in relation to alleged non-compliance with environment protection legislation by DEC or SCA, including the issuing of penalty notices or the taking of prosecution action;
- notices issued by the EPA to DEC or SCA, such as licence variations.
A1.5 Any decision to prosecute DEC or SCA or to issue a penalty notice will be taken in accordance with these guidelines. To avoid any conflict of interest, the Director-General will not be involved in any decision by the EPA in relation to the regulation of DEC or SCA activities, including decisions to prosecute or issue a penalty notice to either DEC or SCA. Rather, in relation to any proposed Tier 1 prosecution, the decision will be taken by the Board and the Director-General will not participate in the Board's discussions in that regard. Further, the decision to commence Tier 2 proceedings or to issue a penalty notice against DEC or SCA will be made by the Deputy Director General, Environment Protection and Regulation Division. Finally, if the EPA is contemplating taking a prosecution against DEC or SCA, the consultation referred to at 10.4 and 10.5 will be undertaken by the Deputy Director General on behalf of the EPA.