ACT No. XXIII of 2018 An Act to amend the Environment Protection Act, Cap. 549.

I assent.

(L.S.)

MARIE-LOUISE

COLEIRO PRECA

President

21st June, 2018

ACT No. XXIII of 2018

An Act to amend the Environment Protection Act, Cap. 549.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Environment Protection Short title.

(Amendment) Act, 2018 and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Environment Protection Act, hereinafter referred to as Cap. 549.

"the principal Act".

In article 2 of the principal Act, immediately after the Amendment to

definition "genetically modified organism", there shall be added the article

principal Act.

following new definition

'' ''guardianship'' and ''guardianship deed'' shall have the

same meaning as assigned to them in article 70A;".

Immediately after article 70 of the principal Act there shall be

added the following new sub-title and article

"5. Guardianship

70A. (1) The Minister may, with the prior

Guardianship

and

approval in writing of the Minister responsible

guardianship

deed.

for lands, enter by public deed, into a

guardianship contract with a local council or

with a non-governmental organisation whereby

the custody and administration of immovable

property is passed over to the local council or

non-governmental organisation, as the case may

be, so that it may be used to secure an

environmental objective such as those set in

article 4, and in accordance with the provisions

of this Act and of such regulations as may be

prescribed and with such conditions not

inconsistent therewith as may be included in the

deed. The guardianship deed shall state the term

for which it is entered following careful

consideration of the feasibility and scale of

undertaking of each proposal.

(2) The Minister shall, however, within

four weeks after its publication or if the House is

not then in session, within four weeks of the date

when the House next meets, lay a copy of the

guardianship deed on the Table of the House,

and the guardianship deed shall be subject to the

condition that if on a motion tabled not later than

twenty eight days after the laying on the Table of

the House of the copy of the guardianship deed,

the House resolves that the guardianship deed

shall be rescinded, the deed shall be

automatically rescinded upon the passage of the

resolution.

(3) Before entering a guardianship deed,

the Minister shall seek the views of the

Authority as to the conditions to be included in

the guardianship deed; such conditions shall in

particular address the following matters

(a)

the measures that are to be

taken to attain the environmental objective

for which the guardianship agreement is

intended;

(b)

the organisational, operational

and financial arrangements in connection

therewith,

and

the

organisational,

operational and financial resources to be

dedicated therefor.

(4) A guardianship deed shall not prejudice

any powers of any public authority under this

Act with regard to the immovable property

subject to the guardianship deed.

(5) The

property

subject

to

the

guardianship deed shall remain the property of

the Government.

(6) The Minister after consulting the

Authority may at any time by Order in the

Gazette rescind a guardianship deed if any

conditions stipulated therein or the provisions of

this Act or of any regulations made thereunder

are not observed by the other party.

(7) Not later than six weeks after each

anniversary of a guardianship deed the party in

whose custody the immovable property is placed

shall transmit to the Minister and the Authority a

report of its activities in relation to the

immovable property and on the way it has

executed the guardianship deed during the

previous year. A copy of such report shall be

laid on the Table of the House by the Minister.

(8) The Minister may make regulations

generally prescribing rules in relation to

guardianship.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 132 of the

18th June, 2018.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.54