Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial (Official Government Doc)

Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial
Ref- http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/sessionalview/sessional/act/2004-19.pdf

Act 2004 No 19
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
Part 2 Authorisation of cloud seeding trial
4 Authorisation of trial 3
5 Duration of trial 3
6 Suspension or termination of trial 4
Part 3 Miscellaneous
7 Application of other legislation 5
8 Supervision of trial and reporting by Natural Resources
Commission 6
9 No compensation payable by State 6Contents page 2
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
Contents
Page
10 Act to bind Crown 7
11 Regulations 7
Schedule 1 Target area 8Act No 19, 2004
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial
Act 2004 No 19
New South Wales
An Act to facilitate a trial cloud seeding research project in the Snowy
Mountains area; and for related purposes. [Assented to 5 April 2004]Page 2
Section 1 Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
Part 1 Preliminary
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act
This Act is the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004.
2 Commencement
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by
proclamation.
3 Definitions
In this Act:
authorised cloud seeding operations means the operations
authorised to be carried out by section 4 during the period referred
to in section 5.
function includes power, authority or duty.
Natural Resources Commission means the Natural Resources
Commission established under Part 2 of the  Natural Resources
Commission Act 2003.
public land means:
(a) national park estate within the meaning of the National Park
Estate (Southern Region Reservations) Act 2000, and
(b) community land within the meaning of the Local Government
Act 1993.
relevant Ministers means:
(a) the Minister administering the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979, and
(b) the Minister administering Part 4 of the National Parks and
Wildlife Act 1974.Page 3
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Section 4
Authorisation of cloud seeding trial Part 2
Part 2 Authorisation of cloud seeding trial
4 Authorisation of trial
(1) Cloud seeding operations designed to increase precipitation by the
discharge of a seeding agent into passing clouds (being operations
that comply with the following requirements) are, by this Act,
authorised to be carried out by or on behalf of Snowy Hydro
Limited:
(a) The area primarily targeted for the increased precipitation is
land that is shown on the map in Schedule 1 as the “target
area” (even though increased precipitation may fall outside
that area).
(b) Land based operations may be carried out within or outside
the target area, but the seeding agent is not to be discharged
from within the Jagungal Wilderness Area.
(c) The discharge of the seeding agent is carried out at a time
when increased precipitation in the target area is likely to fall
as snow.
(d) The seeding agent consists of silver iodide only. Indium
sesquioxide may also be discharged as a control tracer.
(e) The seeding agent and tracer are discharged only by land
based aerosol generators.
(f) The cloud seeding operations and their effect are monitored.
(2) The cloud seeding operations authorised by this Act include:
(a) entering onto public land to carry out the cloud seeding
operations, and
(b) installing and maintaining facilities, and carrying out works,
on public or other land that are required to carry out cloud
seeding operations, and
(c) any operations that are ancillary or incidental to the
operations referred to in this section.
5 Duration of trial
The authorisation of cloud seeding operations by this Act has effect
for the period of 6 years, unless sooner terminated under section 6.
The authorisation does not have effect during any period of
suspension under section 6, but the period of the trial is not extended
by any such period of suspension.Page 4
Section 6 Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
Part 2 Authorisation of cloud seeding trial
6 Suspension or termination of trial
(1) The authorisation of cloud seeding operations by this Act may be
suspended or terminated on a ground specified in subsection (2) by
an order jointly made by the relevant Ministers and served on
Snowy Hydro Limited.
(2) The authorisation may be suspended or terminated if the relevant
Ministers are satisfied that:
(a) the cloud seeding operations are having or will have a
significant adverse environmental impact, or
(b) Snowy Hydro Limited has not complied with any
requirements with respect to the cloud seeding operations that
have been imposed by the relevant Ministers to minimise any
such environmental impact (such as a requirement that Snowy
Hydro Limited prepare and implement an environment
management plan), or
(c) Snowy Hydro Limited has not provided the relevant Ministers
with information about the cloud seeding operations that has
been requested by the relevant Ministers to assess the
environmental impact of the operations.
(3) A suspension or termination under this section may extend to all or
any of the cloud seeding operations authorised by this Act.
(4) The relevant Ministers are to consult Snowy Hydro Limited and the
Natural Resources Commission about any proposed suspension or
termination under this section.
(5) A requirement may be imposed and information may be requested
under this section by an order jointly made by the relevant Ministers
and served on Snowy Hydro Limited.Page 5
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Section 7
Miscellaneous Part 3
Part 3 Miscellaneous
7 Application of other legislation
(1) Authorised cloud seeding operations may be carried out despite any
other Act or law.
(2) The  Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 does not
apply to authorised cloud seeding operations. Accordingly:
(a) development consent under Part 4 of that Act is not required
for those operations, and
(b) Part 5 of that Act does not apply in respect of those operations,
and
(c) those operations cannot be prohibited or restricted by an
environmental planning instrument (whether made before or
after the commencement of this section) under that Act.
(3) The carrying out of authorised cloud seeding operations is taken to
be consistent with the principles for the management of any
reserved land under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 on
which the operations are carried out and with any plan of
management under that Act that relates to any such land.
(4) For the purposes of any defence or exception under the National
Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the carrying out of cloud seeding
operations authorised by this Act is taken to be the carrying out of
development authorised by a development consent under the
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
(5) An environment protection licence under the  Protection of the
Environment Operations Act 1997 is not required for the carrying
out of authorised cloud seeding operations.
(6) The following orders or notices cannot be made or given so as to
prevent or interfere with the carrying out of authorised cloud
seeding operations:
(a) an interim protection order (within the meaning of the
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 or the  Threatened
Species Conservation Act 1995),
(b) an order under Division 1 (Stop work orders) of Part 6A of the
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, Division 1 (Stop work
orders) of Part 7 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act
1995 or Division 7 (Stop work orders) of Part 7A of the
Fisheries Management Act 1994, Page 6
Section 8 Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19
Part 3 Miscellaneous
(c) an environment protection notice under Chapter 4 of the
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997,
(d) an order under section 124 of the Local Government Act 1993.
(7) The provisions of subsections (2)–(6) do not affect the generality of
subsection (1).
(8) Authorised cloud seeding operations do not constitute or give rise to
an existing use or other lawful use for the purposes of Division 10
of Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
8 Supervision of trial and reporting by Natural Resources Commission
(1) The Natural Resources Commission is to supervise authorised cloud
seeding operations and report on the environmental impact of those
operations to the relevant Ministers.
(2) Reports under this section are to be made at such times as the
relevant Ministers direct or the Natural Resources Commission
thinks fit.
(3) A copy of each report under this section is to be provided to Snowy
Hydro Limited at the same time as it is provided to the relevant
Ministers.
(4) Each report of the Natural Resources Commission is to be made
public within a reasonable time after it is provided to the relevant
Ministers.
(5) For the purposes of the exercise of the functions of the Natural
Resources Commission under this Act, Snowy Hydro Limited is
taken to be a government agency (within the meaning of the Natural
Resources Commission Act 2003).
9 No compensation payable by State
(1) Compensation is not payable by or on behalf of the Crown arising
directly or indirectly from any of the following:
(a) the enactment of this Act,
(b) the carrying out of authorised cloud seeding operations,
(c) the exercise by any person of a function under this Act or a
failure to exercise any such function.
(2) In this section:
compensation includes damages or any  other form of monetary
compensation.Page 7
Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Trial Act 2004 No 19 Section 10
Miscellaneous Part 3
the Crown means the Crown within the meaning of the  Crown
Proceedings Act 1988, and includes an officer, employee or agent
of the Crown, but does not include Snowy Hydro Limited.
10 Act to bind Crown
This Act binds the Crown in right of New South Wales and, in so far
as the legislative power of the Parliament of New South Wales
permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
11 Regulations
The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act,
for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or
permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be
prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.[Second reading speech made in—
Legislative Council on 17 March 2004
Legislative Assembly on 2 April 2004]
BY AUTHORIT