Division 4(1) All charges (including charges for the right to take and use water from a bore) and expenses payable under the authority of this Part shall be a charge on the land in respect of which they were payable.(2) In subsection (1), a reference to charges includes a reference to interest on the charges.(3) The provisions of this section have effect despite anything contained in section 42 of the Real Property Act 1900.
120 Duty of occupier to keep in repair
(1) It shall be the duty of each occupier of any of the lands in sections 107 and 109 mentioned, and if any of the said lands should at any time be unoccupied it shall be the duty of the owner thereof, to maintain in good repair and in efficient condition such channels and other works in connection therewith as have been constructed through the land, and any occupier or owner who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units.(2) The Ministerial Corporation, or any person appointed by it in that behalf, may, on being informed of any failure by an occupier or owner to comply with the provisions of the last preceding subsection, require the occupier or owner, by notice in writing served on the owner or occupier, to effect such repairs and do such things as the Ministerial Corporation may consider necessary in order to put the channel in an efficient condition.If the occupier or owner for one week after receipt of the notice fails or neglects to comply therewith it shall be lawful for the Ministerial Corporation to cause such repairs and things as aforesaid to be effected and done, and recover from the occupier or owner, as the case may be, in any court of competent jurisdiction, the expenses thereby incurred.
121 Penalty for wilful destruction
Any person who wilfully cuts, breaks, or destroys or damages, with intent to destroy or render less useful, any work constructed under the authority of this Part shall be liable for all damage and loss sustained by such act, and shall be, in addition, liable to be fined any sum not exceeding 10 penalty units, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding six months.
121A Unlawful obstruction of sub-surface water
(1) A person shall not, except in accordance with this Act or the written permission of the Ministerial Corporation, interfere with sub-surface water or obstruct its flow.(2) A person shall not fail to comply to the satisfaction of the Ministerial Corporation with an order by the Ministerial Corporation:(a) to remove wholly or in part from land owned or occupied by the person an unlawful artificial obstruction that is on or under the surface of the land and obstructs the flow of sub-surface water,(b) to carry out such work as the Ministerial Corporation considers to be necessary to permit the flow of sub-surface water through or past an unlawful artificial obstruction that is on or under the surface of land owned or occupied by the person, or(c) to render ineffective an unlicensed bore.Maximum penalty:
(a) in the case of an offence by a corporation—200 penalty units and 20 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues, or(b) in any other case—100 penalty units and 10 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues.
The Ministerial Corporation may remove or render ineffective an unlawful artificial obstruction to the flow of sub-surface water or render ineffective an unlicensed bore and may recover the costs and expenses of so doing as a debt due to it from the occupier of the land on which the obstruction or bore was situated.
121C Apportionment of expenses
An owner of land is liable to pay to an occupier of the land such proportion of:(a) any costs and expenses incurred by the occupier in complying with a direction of the Ministerial Corporation under section 121A, or(b) any costs and expenses recovered under section 121B by the Ministerial Corporation,as is, on the application of the occupier, determined by the local land board for the district in which the land or any part of it is situated.
122 Penalty for obstruction or diversion of water
Any person who wilfully and wrongly obstructs or diverts the flow of water in any channel constructed under the authority of this Part shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units.
122A Cessation of supply of water from artesian well
Where the flow of an artesian well and supply of water therefrom become so reduced that the Ministerial Corporation considers that there is no longer a sufficient benefit being derived by the occupiers of lands who are liable to pay charges under this Part in respect of such water and that the charges should no longer be payable, the Ministerial Corporation may by notification published in the Gazette declare that water from the artesian well shall no longer be available to the lands of occupiers who were liable to pay such charges.Upon the publication of such notification water from the artesian well shall cease to be available to the said lands under the provisions of this Part and all charges under this Part in respect of the supply of water from the artesian well shall cease to be payable: Provided that such notification shall not operate to release any person from liability for any charges or expenses to the payment of which the person was liable immediately before the publication of such notification.
(1) If the Ministerial Corporation is of opinion that the water from any artesian well or bore is being wastefully or improperly used, or is being wasted, it may order the closing or partial closing of such artesian well or bore, or order such other precautions to be taken as it may deem necessary to prevent such improper use or waste.(2) Any person refusing or neglecting to carry out any order given by the Ministerial Corporation under this section shall be liable, for every day during which such refusal or neglect continues after such order has been given, to a penalty not exceeding 2 penalty units.
(1) For the purposes of this Part the Ministerial Corporation or any person authorised by it, may enter any land and take levels and make surveys and marks, and fix pegs and stakes, and inspect any artesian well or bore and works in connection therewith, and measure and take the pressure of any artesian well or bore.(2) Any person hindering it in the exercise of such powers shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 penalty units.(3) Any person who removes, injures, or interferes with any marks made, or pegs or stakes fixed as aforesaid, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 5 penalty units.
125 Recovery of charges and penalties
Charges and expenses payable under this Part, or any regulations made thereunder, may be recovered before a Magistrate or any 2 justices constituting a Local Court.
Any report, recommendation, or decision of a local land board under this Part shall be subject to an appeal or reference to the Land and Environment Court, in the manner prescribed by the Crown Lands Acts or any regulation made thereunder. The decision of the Court shall be final.
All works and wells constructed under the authority of this Part shall be subject to the provisions of the Public Works Act 1912.
All charges payable under this Part shall be paid, at the times and in the manner prescribed, into the Consolidated Fund.
(1) The Governor may make regulations:(a) for levying and collecting the charges payable under the authority of this Part,(b) for regulating the supply and use of water from any well constructed under the authority of this Part,(c) prescribing the steps to be taken in order to maintain the bores and channels in good repair and in efficient condition,(d) prescribing the forms of licences and renewals thereof, the fees payable in respect of licences and renewals thereof and the time for, and manner of, payment of those fees,(e) for carrying out the provisions of this Part,(f) for the prevention of waste or loss of water from any bore,(g) prescribing the form of application for drillers’ licences, the form of those licences and the fees payable in respect thereof,and may, in such regulations, impose any penalty not exceeding 100 penalty units for any breach of the same, or, where the breach is a continuing one, not exceeding 10 penalty units for every day during which the breach continues.(1A) A provision of a regulation may:(a) apply generally or be limited in its application by reference to specified exceptions or factors,(b) apply differently according to different factors of a specified kind, or(c) authorise any matter or thing to be from time to time determined, applied or regulated by a specified person or body,or may do any combination of those things.(2) Part 3 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 does not apply to or in respect of the regulations under this Part.
This Part (section 118A excepted) does not apply to any part of the State to which Part 3 of Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act 2000 applies in relation to water supply work or aquifer interference approvals within the meaning of that Act.