Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA)
See also: EMPCA 10-Year Statutory Review
2.1 The Act2.2 Objectives
2.3 The Regulations
2.4 Environment Protection Policies
2.1 The Act
The Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA) is the primary environment protection legislation in Tasmania. It was developed in the early 1990s to replace the Environment Protection Act 1973. To view the Act see the Tasmanian Legislation web site: www.thelaw.tas.gov.au 
. Use the search engine on this site to locate the Act.
There was extensive consultation with key stakeholders and the public during the development of the new legislation. This included the active consideration of a number of alternatives, and the release of a draft Bill for public comment.
Some parts of EMPCA commenced in 1995, but the bulk of the Act did not commence until January 1996.
The Environment Protection Act 1973 and the associated regulations, relied heavily on the "command and control" philosophy common to legislation of that era. EMPCA is based on the more modern concept of performance-based legislation, and includes a contemporary array of statutory tools to achieve its objectives.
The fundamental basis of EMPCA is the prevention, reduction and remediation of environmental harm. While this is defined very broadly in section 5 of the Act as:
- "any adverse effect on the environment (of whatever degree or duration) and includes an environmental nuisance" (the latter is defined as 'the emission of a pollutant that unreasonably interferes with, or is likely to interfere with, a person's enjoyment of the environment')".
EMPCA establishes the Board of Environmental Management and Pollution Control ("the Board") as the principal decision-maker. The functions of the Board are to administer and enforce the provisions of the Act, and in particular, to use its best endeavours to:
- protect the environment of Tasmania
- further the objectives of the Act
- ensure the prevention or control of any act or emission which causes or is capable of causing pollution
- coordinate all activities, whether governmental or otherwise, as are necessary to manage the use of, protect, restore or improve the environment of Tasmania
- ensure that valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms are considered in policy making and program implementation in environmental issues.
The Act also provides for the statutory position of Director of Environmental Management. The Director has a number of powers and functions, mostly associated with decisions that might be required quickly and which may not be able to wait for the convening of the Board.
Finally, the Act provides a role for local government in the environmental management of small scale activities that could cause environmental harm, and enables Councils to appoint Council officers who have powers in relation to these activities.
2.2 Objectives
EMPCA is part of the Resource Management and Planning System of Tasmania (RMPS), established under the State Policies and Projects Act 1993. The RMPS comprises a suite of Acts with a common set of objectives based on the concept of sustainable development. These umbrella objectives form Part 1 of Schedule 1 to EMPCA, and are stated as:
- to promote the sustainable development of natural and physical resources and the maintenance of ecological processes and genetic diversity
- to provide for the fair, orderly and sustainable use and development of air, land and water
- to encourage public involvement in resource management and planning
- to facilitate economic development in accordance with objectives (a), (b) and (c)
- to promote the sharing of responsibility for resource management and planning between the different spheres of government, the community and industry in Tasmania.
- protect and enhance the quality of the Tasmanian environment
- prevent environmental degradation and adverse risks to human and ecosystem health by promoting pollution prevention, clean production technology, reuse and recycling of materials and waste minimisation programs
- regulate, reduce or eliminate the discharge of pollutants and hazardous substances to air, land or water consistent with maintaining environmental quality
- allocate the costs of environmental protection and restoration equitably and in a manner which encourages the responsible use of, and reduces harm to, the environment, with polluters bearing the appropriate share of the costs that arise from their activities
- require persons engaging in polluting activities to make progressive environmental improvements, including reductions of pollution at source, as such improvements become practicable through technological and economic development
- provide for the monitoring and reporting of environmental quality on a regular basis
- control the generation, storage, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste with a view to reducing, minimising and, where practicable, eliminating harm to the environment
- adopt a precautionary approach when assessing environmental risk to ensure that all aspects of environmental quality, including ecosystem sustainability and integrity and beneficial uses of the environment, are considered in assessing, and making decisions in relation to, the environment
- facilitate the adoption and implementation of standards agreed upon by the State under inter-governmental arrangements for greater uniformity in environmental regulation
- promote public education about the protection, restoration and enhancement of the environment
- coordinate all activities as are necessary to protect, restore or improve the Tasmanian environment.
These objectives are comparable with the objectives of other contemporary Australian and international environmental legislation. Such legislation is listed in Appendix III. The Review Body considers that these objectives remain appropriate for an Act of this nature.
2.3 The Regulations
The following regulations have been made under section 102 of EMPCA:
Environmental Management and Pollution Control (General Fees) Regulations 2007 (S.R. 2007, No. 115)
2.4 Environment Protection Policies
In 2000, EMPCA was amended to provide for the making, amendment and review of Environment Protection Policies (EPPs).
EPPs are designed specifically to give effect to the objectives of EMPCA. EPPs will define clear environmental objectives with programs to achieve them. They are designed to be outcome-oriented as opposed to regulations which simply set prescriptive rules.
The following draft EPPs have been prepared and released for public comment, and have been assessed by the EPP Review Panel established under s.96A of EMPCA:
The following EPPs have been made by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister in accordance with section 96K of EMPCA.
