Environment Protection Authority v Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd (No 2) [2013] NSWLEC 151

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Environment Protection Authority v Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd (No 2) [2013] NSWLEC 151 Hearing dates: 16 September 2013 Decision date: 16 September 2013 Jurisdiction: Class 5 Before: Biscoe J Decision: Orders 3 and 4 made on 16 August 2013 are amended as follows: (1) Order 3 - substitute "21" with "45"; (2) Order 4 - substitute "35" with "45". Catchwords: SENTENCING for environmental offence - extension of time for compliance with publication order and consequential order. Legislation Cited: Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 s120 Cases Cited: Environment Protection Authority v Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd [2013] NSWLEC 134 Category: Consequential orders Parties: Environment Protection Authority (Prosecutor) Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd (Defendant) Representation: COUNSEL: D Zanello, solicitor (Prosecutor) C Ireland (Defendant) SOLICITORS: Office of Environment and Heritage (Prosecutor) Minter Ellison (Defendant) File Number(s): 50043/13

EXTEMPORE Judgment 1On 16 August 2013 I sentenced the defendant for an offence against s 120 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997: Environment Protection Authority v Coal and Allied Operations Pty Ltd [2013] NSWLEC 134. Orders 3 and 4 were in the following terms: (3) Pursuant to s 250(1)(a) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, the Defendant, within 21 days of this order, is to place a notice in the first five pages of the following publications: (a) Singleton Argus newspaper; (b) Newcastle Herald newspaper; and (c) Australian Mining monthly magazine, at a quarter of a page in size in the form of Annexure A. (4) Within 35 days of the date of these orders, the Defendant is to provide to the Prosecutor with a complete copy of the page of the publications in which the notice appears. 2The defendant, with the consent of the prosecutor, now seeks amendment of order 3(c) by substituting "21" with "45" and amendment of order 4 by substituting "35" with "45". The reason is that the defendant cannot comply with those orders, despite having acted promptly, because the publisher of the Australian Mining Monthly Magazine has advised that, due to the monthly publication cycle, the notice cannot be published until the October edition of that magazine on or about 26 September 2013. In my view, this is a cogent reason for amending the orders as sought by the defendant. 3By consent, orders 3 and 4 made on 16 August 2013 are amended as follows: (1)Order 3 - substitute "21" with "45"; (2)Order 4 - substitute "35" with "45". DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated. Decision last updated: 16 September 2013