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Environment Law
Thirty questions and answers on the Environment Act 2000 - the general environmental duty, when you need a permit, environmental impact assessment, rights over water, and what happens when the Director takes enforcement action.
The Environment Act 2000 is unusual among Papua New Guinean statutes in saying openly what it is for. It was passed to give effect to the Fourth National Goal of the Constitution — that the country's natural resources and environment be conserved and used for the collective benefit of us all, and replenished for the benefit of future generations. It imposes a duty on everyone, licenses the activities that matter, allocates rights in water, and gives the Director real powers of enforcement.
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17 questions and answers, grouped by subject.
- What the Environment Act does — 5 questions
- Environment permits and impact assessment — 5 questions
- Water — 3 questions
- Enforcement, orders and offences — 2 questions
- Policies, management and other laws — 2 questions
What the Environment Act does
The objects, the matters of national importance, the general environmental duty, who administers the Act, and the three levels of environmental harm.
What Does the Environment Act 2000 Cover?
An overview of the Environment Act 2000 in Papua New Guinea: what it regulates, its eleven Parts, the Acts it repealed, and how it fits with mining, petroleum and forestry law.
Read the answer → No. 2What Is the General Environmental Duty?
Section 7 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: the general environmental duty, the five factors, why breach is not an offence, and the defences in section 7(4).
Read the answer → No. 3What Counts as “Environmental Harm”?
Environmental harm under the PNG Environment Act 2000: the definition, material and serious environmental harm, the monetary thresholds, and the offences in sections 11 and 12.
Read the answer → No. 4Who Administers the Environment Act?
Part III of the PNG Environment Act 2000: the Minister's powers, the Director of Environment, the Environment Council, the Environment Consultative Group and Provincial Environment Committees.
Read the answer → No. 5What Are the “Matters of National Importance”?
Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: the objects, the matters of national importance, the precautionary approach, and how the objects are to be achieved.
Read the answer →Environment permits and impact assessment
When a permit is needed, the levels of prescribed activity, environmental impact assessment, applications, conditions, and appeals.
When Do I Need an Environment Permit?
Sections 41 to 46 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: what counts as carrying out an activity, when a permit is required, existing and level 1 activities, notices to apply, and the restraint on other authorities.
Read the answer → No. 9What Is Environmental Impact Assessment?
Division 3 of Part V of the PNG Environment Act 2000: registering preparatory work, the notice to undertake assessment, the seven stages, the inception report and the 60-day deemed approval.
Read the answer → No. 10What Happens to an Environmental Impact Statement?
Sections 54 to 59 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: assessment of an impact statement, public review and submissions, acceptance, referral to the Council, the fifteen criteria, and approval in principle.
Read the answer → No. 11How Do I Apply for an Environment Permit?
Sections 60 to 67 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: who applies, acceptance of applications, the procedural Regulations and Operational Procedures, the criteria for grant, and the fourteen matters the Director must weigh.
Read the answer → No. 13How Are Environment Permits Renewed, Transferred and Amended?
Sections 70 and 71 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: renewal, transfer and surrender of permits, annual fees and returns, and the major or minor amendment decision.
Read the answer →Water
Who owns the water, rights to take and use it, customary rights, compensation, investigations, and the protection of water resources.
Who Owns the Water in Papua New Guinea?
Sections 78 and 79 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: vesting of water rights in the State, the customary rights saving, the domestic use exclusion, and what a water permit authorises.
Read the answer → No. 16What Rights Do I Have to Take and Use Water?
Sections 80 and 81 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: the public right to take water, the rights of a riparian owner or occupier, permanent installations, the Director's quantity notice, and the offences.
Read the answer → No. 17What Compensation Is Payable Under the Environment Act?
Section 87 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: who is entitled to compensation, what it covers, agreement and determination by the Director, the 90-day timetable, security, and appeal to the National Court.
Read the answer →Enforcement, orders and offences
Environment protection orders, clean-up orders, emergency directions, the offences, penalties, and the powers of authorised officers.
What Is an Environment Protection Order?
Sections 101 and 102 of the PNG Environment Act 2000: when an Environment Protection Order may be issued, what it must contain, the requirements it may impose, variation, and the penalty for non-compliance.
Read the answer → No. 23What Are the Penalties for Polluting?
The offences and penalties under the PNG Environment Act 2000: the harm offences, permit offences, order offences, false information, the general penalty, continuing offences, and strict liability.
Read the answer →Policies, management and other laws
Environment policies, codes of practice, environmental management programmes, fees and bonds, and how the Act meets mining, petroleum and forestry law.
What Are Environmental Audits and Improvement Plans?
Part VI of the PNG Environment Act 2000: environmental audits and investigations, environmental improvement plans, the 60-day deemed rejection, emergency authorisations, and data collection.
Read the answer → No. 28What Fees, Levies and Bonds Apply?
Part VIII of the PNG Environment Act 2000: charges for use of the environment, fees, the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, the Environmental Levy, and environmental bonds.
Read the answer →Acts are amended, and figures and time limits change. Every article names the sections it relies on so you can read them. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.