Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Where, whether
before or after the coming into operation of this Act, land was or is granted,
transferred in fee simple, or demised by the Crown, a person shall not,
except as authorised by a permit or by any other Act, obstruct, destroy, or
interfere with any watercourse, race, or drain flowing through or over the
land, or any dam or reservoir, or the bed of any disused watercourse, race, or
drain, that is on the land.
(2)
Subsection (1) applies notwithstanding that although the watercourse,
race, or drain flowed through or over the land, or the dam or reservoir, or
the bed of a disused watercourse, race, or drain, was on the land at the time
of the grant, transfer, or demise of the land, an appropriate reservation or
exception was not included in the Crown grant, transfer of Crown land in fee
simple, or lease.
(3) A person shall
not, except as authorised by a permit or by any other Act, obstruct, destroy
or interfere with the waters, bed or banks of any watercourse flowing through
or over, or wetland situate wholly or partly on, land that has not been
granted or demised by the Crown.
(3a) Without limiting
subsection (1) or (3) —
(a) the
construction or alteration of a dam is to be taken to be prohibited by that
subsection; and
(b) the
reference in that subsection to a permit is a reference to the grant of a
permit by the Minister under regulations referred to in section 17B.
(4) Any person who
obstructs, destroys, or interferes with anything contrary to
subsection (1) or (3) is guilty of an offence against this section; and
any person who, being the occupier of any land granted or demised as mentioned
in subsection (1), continues or fails to remove any such obstruction or
interference is guilty of an offence against this section on every day during
which such obstruction or interference is continued or not removed after
notice in writing to discontinue or to remove the same has been given by or on
behalf of the Minister to such occupier.
(4a) Despite
subsections (1) and (3), this section does not apply to the construction
or alteration of a dam in an area, or of a size or type, excluded from the
operation of this section by local by-laws if the dam is constructed or
altered in accordance with such by-laws.
(4b) Despite
section 19, this section applies to a watercourse to which
Division 2 applies that is —
(a)
prescribed for the purposes of this section by local by-laws; or
(b)
situated within an area that is so prescribed.
(5) A prosecution for
an offence against this section may be commenced at any time within
2 years after the offence was committed and not afterwards.
(6) The Minister may,
by notice in writing, direct any person who has been convicted of an offence
against this section to carry out such works and take such other measures as
the Minister specifies in the notice for the purpose of restoring the bed or
banks of the watercourse, race, drain or wetland or minimising the effect of
the obstruction or destruction thereof or interference therewith.
(7) Where a direction
contained in a notice given under subsection (6) has not been complied
with and the time allowed by the notice for compliance has expired the
Minister may cause such works to be carried out and measures to be taken as
the Minister considers appropriate for achieving the purposes of the notice,
and the Minister may recover the expenses thereby reasonably incurred as a
debt due from the person to whom the notice was given.
(8) In this
section and in section 17A —
dam includes any artificial barrier or levee,
whether temporary or permanent, which does or could impound, divert or control
water, silt, debris or liquid borne materials, together with its appurtenant
works.
[Section 17 inserted by No. 119 of 1984
s. 3; amended by No. 25 of 1985 s. 279; No. 110 of 1985
s. 122; No. 73 of 1995 s. 138; No. 31 of 1997
s. 79(1) and (2); No. 49 of 2000 s. 14(1) and (4), 15 and 53;
No. 38 of 2007 s. 101(1).]