Environment Protection Act (Cap. 549), article 77

77. (1) If any steps or other action, including any discontinuance, stoppage, removal or remediation or similar requirement, required to be taken by a stop order or a complian ce order or other provisions of this Act or regulations made there under have not been taken within the ti me specified therein, the Auth ority will have the power to take enfo rcement action so as to enforce the relevant stop order or complianc e order or other provision of t his Act or regulations made thereund er and for this purpose enter o n the land, or the area at sea and take such steps or other actio n as aforesaid, including the disabling or removal of any equipment, 56 [CAP. 549. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION machinery, tools, belongings, vehicles or other objects that ma y be on site and the carrying out of any works necessary to comply w ith what is requested in the compliance order, or the sealing, confiscation or impoundment of items whose possession is illegal according to provisions of this A ct or regulations made thereun der, and may for such purpose request the assistance of the Police Force, the Armed Forces of Malta, the Department of Customs, any local council, any department of Government or any entity of Government. (2) The Authority shall not be liable for any damages as a result of the exercise of its pow ers under this article unless it is proved that such damage resulted from gross negligence on the p art of the Authority, its officers and agents. (3) At its discretion, the Authority may not return to their owners any objects whatsoever which are the cause of the activi ty subject to the compliance orde r, and which are confiscated, impounded, seized or in any way removed by the Authority. The Authority may also dispose of su ch objects, where applicable at the contravenor’s expense, in line with regulations that the Minist er may make. (4) Where the enforcement by the Authority of the stop order or the compliance order involves by necessity the passage also over third party property, and, or the removal of a development or t he cessation or disruption of an act ivity that is not itself illeg al, or any other impact on the said activity, the Authority may, under exceptional circumstan ces, proceed to pass over such property a nd, or to remove such development or to force the cessation of or t o disrupt or to otherwise impact also such other activity. Cap. 319. (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law and saving the provisions of article 46 of the Constitution and article 4 of the European Convention Act , no precautionary act or other restraining act may be issued against the Authority hindering it from the p roper exercise of the powers conferred to it by this article. (6) The Authority may issue orders for action to remedy environmental damage without the need to apply for authorisatio n from the Authority. (7) Subject to the provisions o f sub-article (3), any items legitimately confiscated, impou nded, seized or in any way remov ed during the exercise of the powers contained in this article, ma y only be released by the Authority following the payment of any dues from these debts resulting from the said action, and only when such payment happens within five calendar months from the date when the responsible parties were notified by the Authority of these dues, or according to payment terms as agreed by the Authority within ninety days from this date of notification of dues. (8) If the payment of debts to the Authority resulting from actions as set out in this artic le does not take place within t he time frame stipulated in sub-article (7), any objects whatsoever confiscated, impounded, seized or in any way removed during the said action will become the property of the Authority and may b e disposed of, where applicable a t the contravenor’s expense, ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION [CAP. 549. 57 according to regulations that the Minister may make to this eff ect. Imposition of daily fines.