There is hereby established a Council to be called the Pollution Advisory Council.

The Council shall consist of—

Of the members appointed to represent local authorities, one shall be nominated by the New Zealand Counties Association, one shall be nominated by the Municipal Association of New Zealand Incorporated, one shall be nominated by the Harbours Association of New Zealand, and one shall be nominated by such Drainage Boards as the Minister may from time to time specify in that behalf by notice in the Gazette.

Of the members appointed to represent industry, one shall be nominated by the New Zealand Dairy Board and one shall be nominated by the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation (Incorporated).

In the absence from any meeting of the Council of any member who is employed in any Government Department, any other officer employed in that Department nominated in that behalf by the permanent head of the Department may attend the meeting in his stead.

While any person is attending any meeting of the Council pursuant to subsection five of this section he shall be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Council, and the fact that any person so attends shall be sufficient evidence of his authority to do so.

If the member of the Council in whose stead an officer of a Government Department is attending a meeting is the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Council, the person so attending the meeting shall, for the purposes of that meeting, be deemed to be the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Council, as the case may be.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every appointed member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of three years, but may from time to time be reappointed.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, every member of the Council, unless he sooner vacates his office, shall continue in office until his successor comes into office.

Any appointed member of the Council may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General for inefficiency, disability, insolvency, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by writing addressed to the Minister.

If any appointed member of the Council dies, or resigns, or is removed from office, his office shall become vacant and the vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy.

In the case of any extraordinary vacancy the Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, may appoint some qualified person to fill the vacancy for the residue of the term for which the vacating member was appointed. Any such appointment shall be made in the same manner as the appointment of the vacating member.

The powers of the Council shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership thereof.

No member of the Council shall be personally liable for any act done or omitted by the Council or by any member thereof in good faith in pursuance or intended pursuance of the powers and authority of the Council.

The Governor-General may from time to time, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint from the members of the Council a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman of the Council. During any vacancy in the office of Chairman, or when the Chairman is unable to act, whether for reason of absence or otherwise, the Deputy Chairman may exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the Chairman.

The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Council at which he is present. In the absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman from any meeting of the Council the members present shall select one of their number to be the Chairman for the purposes of that meeting.

The Chairman at any meeting of the Council shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting vote.

The Minister may from time to time appoint a qualified person who may, in any case where a member of the Council is in the opinion of the Chairman incapacitated by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, act for that member during his incapacity.

Any such appointment may at any time be revoked by the Minister.

No acts done by a deputy as such shall in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for his so acting had not arisen or had ceased.

The first meeting of the Council shall be held on a day to be appointed in that behalf by the Minister.

Subsequent meetings of the Council shall be held at such times and places as the Council or the Chairman from time to time appoints.

Any three members of the Council may at any time request the chairman to call a special meeting of the Council.

At every meeting of the Council six members shall form a quorum.

Every question before the Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes of members present at a meeting of the Council.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder, the Council may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

The Council may from time to time appoint such Advisory or Technical Committees as it thinks fit or as the Minister may require, and may from time to time, with the consent of the Minister, delegate to, any such Committee any of its powers or duties.

Any person may be appointed to be a member of a Committee under this section, notwithstanding that he is not a member of the Council.

There may be invited to any meeting of the Council, or of any Committee appointed by the Council, such expert consultants on any matter as the Council or the Committee, as the case may be, may from time to time require; and the Council or any such Committee may or if the Minister so directs shall from time to time receive deputations and hear the views of any person or persons interested in any matter relevant to the objects of the Council.

The Council is hereby declared to be a Statutory Board within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951.

There shall be paid out of moneys appropriated by Parliament for the purpose to the members of the Council and of every Advisory or Technical Committee appointed by the Council remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances and travelling allowances or expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

Such persons may be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act 1912 and (in cases to which that Act does not apply) such professional, technical, and other assistance may be engaged by the Minister or by any person acting with his authority as may be considered necessary to enable the Council to perform its functions and duties.

The principal functions of the Council shall be to inquire into and make reports and recommendations to the Minister on such ways of preventing or reducing the pollution of waters and of co-ordinating the functions of persons or bodies charged with the duty of preventing or reducing the pollution of waters as from time to time appear practicable, whether suggested by the Council or referred to it by the Minister.

Without limiting the generality of subsection one of this section, the Council may—

The Council shall have all such other powers as are conferred on it by this Act or by regulations under this Act and all powers and authorities necessary, conducive, or incidental to the performance of its powers and functions.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder, every person commits an offence against this Act who causes or knowingly permits to enter any waters—

For the purposes of subsection one of this section a person shall be deemed to cause matter to enter any waters if he places it or causes it to be placed in a position where it is liable to fall, or descend, or be washed, or to percolate into the waters.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection one of this section,—

shall not constitute an offence under the said subsection.

No prosecution shall be commenced under this section in respect of the entry into any waters of any matter to which paragraph (a) of subsection one of this section relates unless regulations under this Act are in force prescribing standards for determining when matter is to be treated as poisonous or noxious for the purposes of this Act.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as may be contemplated by this Act or as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof.

Without limiting the general power hereinbefore conferred, it is hereby declared that regulations may be made under this section for all or any of the following purposes:

Regulations made under this section may be so made as to apply generally throughout New Zealand or within any specified part or parts thereof, or within the whole of New Zealand except such part or parts as may be specified in the regulations or to all waters or to specified waters or classes of waters, and may be so made as to apply to any specified industry or to any specified class or classes of industry.

All regulations under this Act shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the date on the making thereof if Parliament is then in session, and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the date of the commencement of the next ensuing session.

Any person who commits an offence against this Act or any regulations made under this Act for which no specific penalty is provided shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day during which the offence continues.

Where any person has been convicted of an offence against tiffs Act or regulations under this Act involving the pollution of waters, and that person at any time within three years after the conviction is found guilty of a further offence, which is substantially a repetition of the earlier offence, he shall be liable on conviction for the further offence to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds and to a further fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every day during which the offence continues after the further conviction.

Where any person has been convicted of an offence against this Act or regulations under this Act involving the pollution of waters the Court may direct that such portion of the fine imposed as the Court may deem necessary shall be paid to any local authority, or other person, to cover any costs incurred by that local authority or person in removing, burying, or otherwise disposing of or neutralizing the effects of any pollutant the discharge of which gave rise to the offence.

Where under section sixteen of this Act standards are prescribed for determining whether any matter is poisonous, noxious, or polluting they shall be conclusive for the purposes of this Act or of regulations or by-laws made thereunder on the question as to what is or is not poisonous, noxious, or polluting in relation to waters to which the standards apply.

In any proceedings in respect of the contravention of or non-compliance with any requirement, obligation, rule, or provision under this Act or any regulations or by-laws made under the authority of this Act, the Magistrate, in addition to or instead of imposing a fine, may by order require the defendant to do any specified work or to adopt any specified means for the purpose of preventing the further contravention of or non-compliance with the requirement, obligation, rule, or provision, and may specify a time within which the order shall be obeyed. The time so specified may from time to time be extended by the Magistrate on the application of the defendant.

If the Magistrate makes the order instead of imposing a fine, he shall adjourn the proceedings until the expiry of the time specified in the order. If the order is duly obeyed, he may, if he thinks fit, impose no penalty in respect of the offence.

If default is made in duly obeying the order within the time or extended time specified in that behalf, the defendant commits an offence against this Act and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day during which the default continues.

Any local authority may make by-laws not inconsistent with this Act or with regulations made thereunder with respect to the discharge of any trade wastes, or trade wastes of any particular nature or composition from trade premises into any sewer controlled by the local authority, and any such by-laws may provide for all or any of the following matters, that is to say:

Any trade wastes by-laws may apply generally throughout the district of the local authority or within any specified part or parts thereof and may be so made as to apply to any specified trade premises or to any specified class or classes of trade premises.

Subject to the provisions of this section, all trade wastes by-laws shall be made in the same manner as the local authority concerned is authorized to make by-laws and shall be subject to the same provisions as apply to those by-laws.

No trade wastes by-laws shall be of any effect until confirmed by the Minister.

The Minister shall not entertain any application for confirmation of any trade wastes by-laws made by a local authority unless he is satisfied that the following requirements have been complied with, that is to say:

Where the owner or occupier of any trade premises within the district of a local authority serves on the local authority a written request to be registered and states his name and postal address, it shall be the duty of the local authority to enter his name and address in a register to be kept by it for the purpose of this Act; and so long as his name appears in the register the local authority shall cause to be sent to him a copy of any notice which it is required by this Act to publish in connection with the making of trade wastes by-laws or the confirmation of any such by-laws.

The local authority may remove from the said register the name of any person who has ceased to be the owner or occupier of trade premises within its district, or who has requested the local authority in writing to remove his name from the register.

As soon as may be after any trade wastes by-laws are confirmed by the Minister, the local authority shall publish, by advertisement at its offices and in one or more daily newspapers circulating in its district, a notice of the confirmation, specifying the date on which the by-laws will come into operation, and stating that copies of the by-laws may be inspected and obtained at the offices of the local authority on payment of a specified amount.

If any trade wastes by-law under this Act is contravened or not complied with in the case of any trade premises, the occupier of the premises commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding five pounds for every day on which the offence continues.

No charges under any trade wastes by-laws made under this Act for the treatment (whether before or after discharge into a sewer) or the reception or disposal of trade wastes shall be made by any local authority except—

When fixing any charges to which paragraph (a) of subsection one of this section relates the local authority shall take into consideration and make allowances for any return received by the local authority in respect of the sale or other disposal of by-products produced as the result of the treatment of the trade wastes in respect of which the charges are made.

With respect to any charges to which paragraph (b) of subsection one of this section relates, the following provisions shall apply:

Nothing in this section shall affect the right of a local authority to make charges or levy rates in respect of the treatment, reception, or disposal of sewage conferred by or under the authority of any other Act or by any agreement entered into under the authority of this Act.

For the purposes of this section the expression “rateable value”, when used in relation to any premises, means the value in respect of which rates are levied by the Municipal Corporation, Town Board, Road Board, or County Council, as the case may require, of the district where the premises concerned are situated.

Within twenty-one days after the receipt by any person of an assessment from a local authority of an amount claimed by the local authority to be due, pursuant to trade wastes by-laws under this Act, in respect of the treatment or reception of trade wastes, that person may notify the local authority that he objects to the assessment.

The objection shall be in writing and shall set out the grounds of the objection.

Unless within fourteen days of the receipt of the objection the assessment is amended by the local authority in such a manner as to be acceptable to the objector, he may appeal to a Magistrate.

Every appeal to a Magistrate under this section shall be made within such time and shall be in such form as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act and, except as prescribed by any such regulations, the Magistrate shall determine his own procedure at the appeal.

At the hearing of any such appeal the Magistrate shall hear all the evidence tendered and all representations by or on behalf of the appellant and other persons which he deems relevant to the subject matter of the appeal.

In his determination of any such appeal the Magistrate may confirm, modify, or disallow the assessment.

There shall be an appeal from any determination of a Magistrate under this section in all respects as if the determination were a final determination of the Magistrate’s Court.

Where a local authority considers that the operation of any trade wastes by-law made by that authority would be unreasonable in relation to any particular case, the local authority may, with the consent of the Minister, relax the requirements of the by-law or dispense with the compliance therewith in that particular case.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the discharge of any domestic sewage into a sewer under the control of a local authority in accordance with the by-laws of that authority and the discharge of trade wastes into a sewer in accordance with trade wastes by-laws under this Act shall not constitute a breach of any provision of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder:

Provided that nothing in this section shall absolve any local authority from liability in respect of the discharge, in contravention of any regulations under this Act, of any pollutant from a sewer under the control of the local authority.

The Minister may, by notice under his hand published in the Gazette, declare that any by-law made by a local authority and specified in the notice shall be deemed to be a trade wastes by-law for the purposes of this section; and on the publication of any such notice (which may at any time be amended or revoked) the expression “trade wastes by-laws” when used in this section shall be deemed to include any by-law to which any such notice for the time being relates.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations and trade wastes by-laws under this Act, the occupier of any trade premises within the district of a local authority may, with the consent of the local authority, or, as far as permitted by any such trade wastes by-laws, without any such consent, discharge into the sewers under the control of the local authority any trade wastes proceeding from those premises.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any trade wastes by-laws for the time being in force, a local authority may enter into and carry into effect an agreement with the owner or occupier of any trade premises within its district for the reception and disposal of any trade wastes produced on those premises, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this section, the agreement may provide for the construction, maintenance, and operation by the local authority of such works as may be required for the said reception, treatment, or disposal, and for the repayment by the owner or occupier, as the case may be, of the whole or part of the expenses incurred by the local authority in carrying out its obligations under the agreement:

Provided that any agreement entered into under this subsection by a local authority shall not take effect unless and until the agreement has been approved by the Minister.

A local authority may enter into and carry into effect an agreement with the owner or occupier of any trade premises within its district whereby the local authority, upon such terms as may be specified in the agreement, undertakes to remove and dispose of substances produced in the course of treating any trade wastes on or in connection with those premises.

Where, for the purpose of compliance with any trade wastes by-laws, it is necessary for any works to be constructed by any person, the local authority may construct those works at the request of that person, and the amount of the expenses reasonably incurred by the local authority in so doing shall be a debt due to the local authority from the person at whose request the works were constructed.

Where any sum is payable by any person under subsection three hereof to a local authority, the local authority may make an agreement with him for the payment of that sum and the interest thereon to the local authority in such instalments over such period and on such terms (including a term as to the giving of security by the debtor), as may be specified in the agreement.

With the approval of the Minister, any local authority may enter into an agreement with any owner or occupier of any trade premises within its district to share the costs of construction, maintenance, and operation of any works for the reception, treatment, and disposal of domestic sewage within the whole or any part of the district of the local authority and trade wastes from the trade premises.

With the approval of the Minister, any local authority may enter into an agreement with any owner or occupier of any trade premises within its district whereby the owner or occupier will receive domestic sewage from a local authority for treatment and disposal together with trade wastes from any such premises, and the local authority may make such contribution towards the costs of any such reception, treatment, and disposal as may be agreed upon between the parties to the agreement.

The provisions of this Act are in addition to and not in substitution for the provisions of any other Act and nothing in this Act shall derogate from the provisions of any other Act. The compliance with the provisions of this Act or any regulations or by-laws made under this Act shall not confer any relief or exemption from liability under any other enactment but no person shall be convicted of any offence under this Act in respect of the same matter for which he has been convicted of an offence under any other enactment.

No person shall be deemed to have committed a breach of any provision of this Act or of any regulations or by-laws under this Act who discharges or permits to be discharged any pollutant from a mine in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Act 1926.

Nothing in this Act or in any regulations or by-laws under this Act shall affect any right which any person may have under any rule of law to restrict or prevent, or obtain damages in respect of, the pollution of waters.

This Act shall bind the Crown.