Commencement

The Select Committee has recommended that any provision of the Bill not brought into force by Order in Council at an earlier date would come into force on 1 December 2012 (Clause 2, inserting new subsection (3)).

Minister’s powers

The Select Committee has recommended that it be made clear that any Minister (i.e. a Minister of the Crown who, under the authority of any warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister, is responsible for the administration of an environmental Act ) may delegate to the EPA functions or powers under an environmental Act (Part 1, amending Clause 15 by inserting new subclause (1AA)).

Comment

An environmental Act under the Bill is:

• the Climate Change Response Act 2002;

• the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996;

• the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Act 1988;

• the Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996;

• the Resource Management Act 1991 (Part 1, Clause 4, definition of “environmental Act” (with the addition of the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Act 1988 and the Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996 recommended for addition by the Select Committee).

Māori Advisory Committee

The Select Committee has recommended that EPA board members not be eligible for appointment to the Māori Advisory Committee (Part 17, amending Clause 17 by inserting New Clause 2A).

Environmental permitting functions

The Select Committee has recommended that provision be made for the EPA:

• to exercise the powers of a decision-maker under the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Act 1988 and

• to be the decision-maker under the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Prohibition Order (No 2) 2004 in relation to the export and import of specified chemicals and waste; and

• to be the permitting and enforcement functions under the Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996 and associated regulations (Part 3, inserting New Sections 47B-47D; inserting New Parts 5A and 5BNew Sections 74A-74Z; New Schedules 6 and 7).

Comment

“The EPA would then be responsible for processing and deciding applications for import and export permits, processing and deciding applications for exemptions, maintaining registries, and some compliance and enforcement. Among the proposed general requirements for permits under the Ozone Layer Protection Act, the EPA could refuse to grant a permit if it were inconsistent with the scheme of the regulations. These functions are currently carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry for the Environment, and give effect to New Zealand’s obligations under a number of international agreements. We understand that transferring these functions to the EPA would have little or no effect on businesses, individuals, or not-for-profit organisations. The Minister in charge of the bill has previously signalled his intention that the proposed EPA be responsible for these permitting and enforcement functions, which are closely related to proposed EPA functions under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. While we do not recommend transferring other specific functions to the EPA, we note that it might acquire more duties and functions over time” [1]   .

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