New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MARINE POLLUTION ACT 2012 - SECT 14

14 Discharges to which Act does not apply

(1) This Act does not apply to the following discharges--

(a) the release of relevant harmful substances directly arising from the exploration, exploitation and associated off-shore processing of sea-bed mineral resources,

(b) the release of relevant harmful substances for purposes of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control,

(c) dumping within the meaning of the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 , done at London on 7 July 1996, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.

Note : The 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 defines
"dumping" as--

(a) any deliberate disposal into the sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea,

(b) any deliberate disposal into the sea of vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea,

(c) any storage of wastes or other matter in the seabed and the subsoil thereof from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea,

(d) any abandonment or toppling at site of platforms or other man-made structures at sea, for the sole purpose of deliberate disposal.

Under that Convention,
"dumping" does not include--

(a) the disposal into the sea of wastes or other matter incidental to, or derived from the normal operations of vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea and their equipment, other than wastes or other matter transported by or to vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea, operating for the purpose of disposal of such matter or derived from the treatment of such wastes or other matter on such vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures,

(b) placement of matter for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof, provided that such placement is not contrary to the aims of the Protocol, and

(c) abandonment in the sea of matter (e.g. cables, pipelines and marine research devices) placed for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof.

(2) In this section--

"relevant harmful substances" --

(a) means a substance which, if introduced into the sea, is liable to--

(i) create hazards to human health, or

(ii) harm living resources and marine life, or

(iii) damage amenities, or

(iv) interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea, and

(b) includes a substance subject to control by MARPOL.

Editor's note : See Article 2 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 .