Environment Protection Act (Cap. 549), article 54

54. (1) The Minister may, acting in accordance with the provisions of article 55, make re gulations for the better carry ing out of the provisions of this Act and may in particular by such ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 33 regulations appoint the Authority or any person or body to be t he designated authority for the p urposes of any international obligation to which M alta may be a party. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub - article (1) such regula tions may, in particular: (a) prescribe the charges and fees that may be levied by the Authority for services rendered by it under this Act, or in respect of any matter for which it is considered that a fee should be payable; (b) provide for the procedure to be followed by the Authority, the applicant and any other relevant parties before and after the submission of an application for authorisation under this Act, or otherwise involving any assessment under this Act; as well as the procedures for, inter alia , advertising, communication, vetting and screening of, and consultations, representations and decision-making on, the said application or assessment, and the general conditions under which the Authority may in relation to any activity which may require an authorisation or assessment under this Act require the giving of financial or other guarantees or the provision of assurance to: (i) prevent, deter, mitigate or remedy any damage to the environment or deterioration of environmental quality; (ii) make good for any damage that may be caused to the environment; and (iii) secure adherence to any commitments made toward environmental improvement or environmental benefits; (c) provide for any aspect relating to the conditions that may be imposed in relation to any authorisation under this Act or otherwise involving any assessment under this Act including where applicable any grant, renewal, transfer, suspension, cancellation and duration, the manner in which submissions and applications are to be made, the content and form of such applications and submissions and how they may be granted, rejected, renewed or transferred, the fees payable, and the manner in which renewals or transfers thereof are to be indicated; (d) prescribe what type of information held by the Authority or otherwise falling within the scope of this Act shall be accessible to the public as well as to establish the procedure c oncerning access thereto and the relative fees to be paid to obtain copies of such information; (e) give effect to any internat ional treaty or instrument, including directives, regulations and decisions, relating to any matter governed by this Act to which 34 [CAP. 549. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION Malta may from time to time be a party or subject and to set up structures and make other provisions for the implementation thereof; (f) establish, co-ordinate and enforce environment quality control systems and make provisions for the carrying out of assessments of envir onmental impacts and risks of both new and existing establishments as well as to provide for the effective prevention and remedying of environmental damage; (g) provide for the collection, processing, comparison, management and interpretation of data related to the environment and to provide that such persons carrying out such activities that may affect the environment as may be prescribed give such information and data to the Authority in a regular or other basis as may be prescribed in order to enable the Authority to monitor and safeguard the quality of the environment; (h) prescribe the techniques or the parameters in the monitoring of the environment; (i) prescribe, in collaboration with the Civil Protection Department, or any other relevant public entity, the circumstances in which an environmental emergency may be declared, and the effect that such a declaration may have on any activity requiring an authorisation under this Act; (j) set objectives, issue direct ives and establish codes of practice, all in relation to the environment, to the reduction, reuse, recovery, treatment, storage and disposal of materials as may be prescribed, to all human activity which affects the environment, and such regulations may in particular: (i) formulate objectives laying down in quantitative and qualitative terms, the goals to be achieved in the effort to control the environment; (ii) give directives with regard to such uses of the environment as may be prescribed; (iii) establish the maximum quantities or concentrations of discharge or emission, or use of such substances as may be prescribed during works, undertakings or activities of any nature and ensure the enforcem ent and monitoring of these standards; and (iv) establish codes of practice determining procedures, methods, limits of discharge and emission of substances applicable to works and activities as may be prescribed both with regard to the time when such works and activities are taking place as well as with regard to the time when the works and activities have been completed; (k) in relation to pollution prevention, control and ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 35 environmental quality: (i) establish systems which ensure such prevention and control; (ii) prescribe measures to control, prevent, manage, reduce or remedy pollution and degradation of the environment; (iii) control the keeping, management, trading in or use of substances and oth er activities which may cause or facilitate pollution and degradation of the environment; (iv) set standards including maximum permitted levels in quantitative or qualitative terms, of discharge and emissions into the environment of materials, substances and disturbances and with regard to the use of any technology, equipment, matter, substance, method or procedure in relation thereto; (v) establish methodologies to be used in the monitoring of discharges and emissions into the environment and to regulate the use of information gathered during such monitoring; (vi) prevent, control, re duce, mitigate, remedy or otherwise manage situations which may lead to environmental emergencies and to prevent, control, reduce, mitigat e, remedy or o t h e r w i s e manage any adverse effects on the environment resulting therefrom; (l) in relation to waste management: (i) classify waste and prescribing rules in relation thereto in accordance with the type and category thereof; (ii) regulate the management, recycling and disposal; (iii) establish quotas, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of permitted gene ration of waste, as well as otherwise provide for the prevention and reduction of waste; (iv) provide for the registration, control and, or, licensing of waste man agement operations; (m) in relation to the protection of biodiversity and other natural features: (i) provide for the monitoring, assessment, management, conservation and protection thereof; (ii) declare any species, eco system or feature to be protected and establish rules for its control, protection, management, reintroduction and or its return into the natural environment; (iii) declare any species to be an invasive species and establish rules for its assessment, monitoring, 36 [CAP. 549. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION control and, or, eradication, and other prevention and management mechanisms to control the introduction and spr ead of such species; (iv) regulate the taking, exploitation and other use of s p e c i m e n s o f f a u n a , f l o r a a n d , o r n a t u r a l features; and in particular prohibit and, or, control possession, collection, exhibition, transport, trade, propagation or captive breeding of such specimens as may be prescribed; (v) provide for the conservation, protection and management of protected sites and particular habitats or categories thereof and other natural features in order to safeguard biological diversity; (vi) declare any areas or sites on land or in the internal or territorial waters, or beyond such waters where Malta may have jurisdiction for the purpose of the protection and control of the environment, to be protected areas and to provide for their protecti on and to regulate their management; (vii) control and regulate any activity that may interfere with the conservation status of biological diversity; (viii) regulate trade in and the transit, import or export of specimens of flora, f auna and other natural features as may be prescribed; (ix) declare prohibit ed means of capture, exploitation and killing of species or specimens and provide rules for their monitoring and control; (x) regulate access to genetic resources and their benefit-sharing; (xi) provide measures for the conservation, protection, management and regulation of geological, geomorphological, hydrological, edaphic and other features and areas containing them; ( x i i ) p r o v i d e m e a s u r e s f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n , management and conservation of landscapes, landscape features and landscape diversity; (xiii) provide measures for the prevention, management and control of desertification, land degradation and damage to or deterioration of natural features; (n) control, manage and regulate the transport, introduction of, use (including contained use), release o r p l a c i n g o n t h e m a r k e t o r i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o f genetically modified organisms; (o) in relation to environmental assessments, audits and monitoring: ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 37 (i) provide for the carrying out of environmental assessments, screenings, audits and monitoring, for the review of ancillary submissions, reports and documentation, and for the screening and evaluation of any activit ies or development that may affect the environment; (ii) regulate the procedures to be followed, and require any person to undertake or commission and to submit to the Authority any studies, technical investigations, assessments, audits, monitoring, reports or do cumentation as may be deemed appropriate; and (iii) provide for the formulation of plans and measures to prevent, deter, reduce, mitigate, offset or remedy any adverse environmental effects and risks; (p) in relation to the Authority’s functions, including monitoring, complian ce and enforcement: (i) after consultation with the Authority, make regulations to give better effect to the provisions of article 75(1)(a); (ii) authorise and regulate clamping, towing, removal, impounding, confiscation, seizure and storage by the Authority of any object used for or in connection with anything contrary to the provisions of this Act or any regulation made thereunder; (iii) exclude the Authority from any liability, other than liability for gross negligence, incurred in connection with the execution of its duties under the said regulations; (iv) provide for the disposal of objects without liability, when the said objects are not claimed by their owners within such time as may be prescribed; (v) establish fees payable to the Authority for the removal of clamps, for towing, for the storage of objects and for the auction or other form of disposal of such objects; (vi) establish the circumst ances where objects can be confiscated and establish the relative procedure for their confiscation and disposal; (vii) order remediation of site or situation to original state; (viii) establish offences and the relative punishments in relation to matters referred to in sub- paragraphs (i) to (vii), which punishments shall not exceed a maximum fine ( multa ) of two hundred and fifty thousand euro (€250,000): Cap. 9. Cap. 446. Provided that article 21 of the Criminal Code and the provisions of the Probation Act shall not 38 [CAP. 549. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION apply to any offence established under this sub- paragraph; (q) amend, substitute, add to or otherwise alter anything contained in the Schedule; (r) provide for any other purpose for which regulations are authorized or required to be made otherwise than by the Authority; (s) prescribe the form of any notice, order or other document authorised or required by this Act to be made, submitted, served or given; (t) regulate how any notice or communication to or from the Authority which in terms of this Act shall be in writing may be made or submitted in electronic form; (u) provide that any person who acts in contravention of any regulation under this Act shall be guilty of an offence against this article, and establishing such penalty, being a penalty not greater than a fine ( multa ) of two hundred and fifty thousand euro (€250,000) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, to which any person so guilty may be liable: Provided that such regulations may provide that a person, who having been sentenced for an offence against the same regulation by a judgement which has become absolute, commits a further offence in contravention of the same regulation within such time as may be prescribed, shall be l ia b l e to pa y a h i gh e r fine ( multa ), not exceeding double the fine ( multa ) which would otherwise have been inflicted, and for the purpose of this proviso the maximum fine that may be established by such regulations shall be five hundred thousand euro (€500,000): Provided further that such f ine shall in all cases be due to the Authority as a civil debt, and that where the person guilty of the offence is a director, secretary or manager of a body corporate for the economic benefit of whom the offence was committed, such body corporate shall be liable in solidum with the offender for the payment of the said civil debt; (v) introduce measures relative to the liability to be incurred by any individual who shall, in any manner be deemed responsible for any action that may cause environmental damage. Such regulations may also include measures relating to the prevention and remedying of such environmental damage; (w) provide for the making of any deposit or the giving of any guarantee to ensure the performance of any obligation by any person as imposed as a condition of any permit, authorisation or licence under this Act; (x) prescribe the practices to be adopted in regard to safety, and the protection of the environment in ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 39 relation to any matter regulated by this Act, including any norms in relation to the liability of any person who causes damage to the environment as a result of any activities regulated by or under this Act undertaken by that person; (y) make provisions regarding a contingency plan in the event of any crisis relating to any matter regulated by this Act; (z) provide for administrative infringements and fines, including out of court se ttlement arrangements; (aa) provide for economic instruments and schemes to promote positive environmental behaviour; (bb) make provisions regarding cooperation with other authorities and the relationship between the Authority and other public authorities including consultations, provision of information and any other matter of mutual interest; (cc) provide for prescribing anything which may be or is required to be prescribed by this Act; Cap. 625. (dd) subject to the provisions of the Exclusive Economic Zone Act , regulate, prescribe or otherwise provide for any matters regulated by or under this Act or by or under any subsidiary legislation ma de thereunder, in respect of an exclusive economic zone area or an environment protection area as defined in the Exclusive Economic Zone Act or any activities therein including, but not limited, to the applicability or otherwise of this Act and, or of any subsidiary leg islation made thereunder. (3) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act or of any other law, the Authority reserves the right to publish certain Schedules annexed to regulations made under this Act in the Maltese language only, the English language only or both. Procedure for making of regulations.