Environment Protection Act (Cap. 549), article 70A

70A. (1) The Minister may, with the prior approval in writing of the Minister responsible for lands, enter by public deed, in to a guardianship contract w ith a local council or with a non-govern mental organisation whereby the custody and administration of immovabl e property is passed over to the local council or non-governmenta l organisation, as the case may be, so that it may be used to sec ure an environmental objective such as those set in article 4, and in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of such regulations as may be prescribed and with such conditi ons not inconsistent therewith as may be included in the deed. The guardianship deed shall state the term for which it is entered following careful consideration of the feas ibility and scale of undertaking of each proposal. (2) The Minister shall, however, within four weeks after its 50 [CAP. 549. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION publication or if the House is not then in session, within four weeks of the date when the House next meets, lay a copy of the guardianship deed on the Table of the House, and the guardianship deed shall be s ubject to the condition that if on a motion tabled not later than twenty eight days after the laying on the Table of the House of the copy of the guardianship deed, the House resolves that the guardianship dee d shall be rescinded, the deed shall be automatically rescinded upon the passage of the resolution. (3) Before entering a guardianshi p deed, the Minister shall seek the views of the Authority as to the conditions to be included in the guardianship deed; such conditions shall in particular address the following matters: (a) the measures that are to be taken to attain the environmental objective for which the guardianship agreement is intended; (b) the organisational, operational and financial arrangements in connection therewith, and the organisational, operational and financial resources to be dedicated therefor. (4) A guardianship deed shall not prejudice any powers of any public authority under this Act with regard to the immovable pr operty subject to the guardianship deed. (5) The property subject to the guardianship deed shall remain the property of the Government. (6) The Minister after consulting the Authority may at any time by Order in the Gazette rescind a guardianship deed if any cond itions stipulated therein or the provisions of this Act or of any regu lations made thereunder are not observed by the other party. (7) Not later than six weeks after each anniversary of a guardianship deed the party in whose custody the immovable property is placed shall transmit to the Min ister and the Authority a repor t of its activities in relation to the imm ovable property and on the way it has executed the guardianship deed during the previous year. A copy of such report shall be laid on the Table of the House by the Minister. (8) The Minister may make regulations generally prescribing rule s in relation to guardianship. PART VII Powers of the Authority, Monitoring, Compliance Action and Enforcemen t of Control 1. Right of Entry, Inspections and Monitoring Right of entry. 71. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, for the purposes of carrying out their functions under this Act, th e Board of the Authority, and such officer or committee or any ot her ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 51 person as may be authorised by the Authority for this purpose, and if so required by the Authority with the assistance of the Poli ce Force, may enter any premises, public or private, vehicle, vess el or any other place, for the purposes of: (a) the making of investigations, inspections, surveys, tests or measurements, or lifting of samples; (b) ascertaining that nothing contrary to the provisions of this Act, to the regulations made thereunder or to any term, condition, limitation or specification attached to any authorisation issued unde r this Act is taking or has taken place, and taking a ny action accordingly; (c) ascertaining or reproducing such data or information as the Authority may require; (d) making plans of any premises, vehicle or vessel and taking photographs of the same after entry or boarding in accordance with this article; or (e) doing anything that is ancillary or consequential thereto. (2) In the case of a dwelling house, such right of entry, inspection and monitoring as provided for in this article, will be subject to giving previous notice of at least forty-eight hours and shall not apply before half past seven in the morning or after seven o’clock in the evening. (3) Any person who obstructs, threatens, attacks or impedes any officer of the Authority in the exercise of his duties unde r this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or to a fine ( multa ) of not more than one hundred thousand euro (€100,000) or to both such fine and imprisonment. Compliance monitoring.