ACT No. XXX of 2023 AN ACT to amend the Environment Protection Act, Cap. 549, and to provide for other matters dealing with it or ancillary thereto.

I assent.

(L.S.)

GEORGE VELLA

President

21st July, 2023

ACT No. XXX of 2023

AN ACT to amend the Environment Protection Act, Cap. 549, and to

provide for other matters dealing with it or ancillary thereto.

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

(Amendment) Act, 2023 and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Environment Protection Act, hereinafter referred to as

''the principal Act''.

Article 6 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a) the marginal note thereof shall be substituted by the

words ''Establishment of the Environment and Resources

Authority.'';

(b) in sub-article (1) thereof, the words ''not less than

eight and not more than ten'' shall be substituted by the words

''not less than nine (9) and not more than eleven (11)'';

(c)

sub-article (2) thereof shall be amended as follows

(i) paragraph (a) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

''(a) three (3) public sector officials having

experience or qualifications in matters concerning

the environment, environmental health, social policy,

or resources;''; and

(ii) in paragraph (b) thereof, the words "six

members" shall be substituted by the words "seven (7)

members";

(d) in sub-article (7) thereof, the words ''public officers''

shall be substituted by the words ''in the public sector'';

(e) sub-article (9) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(9) The provisions of the Second Schedule shall

apply to the Board of the Authority and regulate its

proceedings."; and

(f) immediately after sub-article (10) thereof there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(11) The Minister, in consultation with the

Chairperson of the Authority, shall appoint a secretary to

assist the Authority. The secretary shall have the duty of

calling meetings of the Board of the Authority and keeping

respective minutes thereof and assume such other duties as

the Chairperson of the Authority may assign to him.".

Immediately after article 10 of the principal Act there shall be Addition of a

new article to

added the following new article

the principal

Act.

(1) There shall be a Commission, to be known

as the Environmental Commission, which shall consist of

four (4) members.

(2) The members of the Commission shall be

persons of known integrity and appointed by the Minister

as follows

(a) one (1) of the members of the Board of

the Authority who shall chair the Commission;

(b) one (1) person with experience or

qualifications

in

matters

concerning

the

environment;

(c) one (1) person with experience or

qualifications in law or law enforcement; and

(d) one (1) person representing the interests

of environmental voluntary organisations, who shall

be chosen from amongst a number of persons

nominated by the said voluntary organisations.

(3) The members of the Commission shall hold

office for a period of three (3) years. They shall be

eligible for re-appointment for another term of three (3)

years. Members may resign by letter addressed to the

Minister.

(4) The functions of the Commission shall be such

functions which the Board of the Authority may, from

time to time, delegate to it and require it to perform,

subject to such conditions as the Board of the Authority

may deem appropriate.

(5) Any decision taken by the Commission shall be

deemed to be, and shall have the same force and effect as,

the decisions of the Board of the Authority, except in

respect of matters which the Board of the Authority

expressly reserves to itself or requires to be referred to it

for determination, and the phrase "decision of the Board

of the Authority", wherever it occurs in this Act, shall be

construed accordingly.

(6) The decisions of the Commission shall only be

binding if they are supported by the votes of not less than

two (2) of its members.

(7) The Commission shall communicate to the

Chairperson of the Authority a copy of its decisions and

the relative deliberations leading to its decisions, as soon

as practicable after the meeting at which the decisions are

taken.

(8) Subject to the foregoing provisions and to the

Second Schedule, and to any rules that may be prescribed

by the Board of the Authority, the Commission may

regulate its own procedures.

(9) The secretary of the Authority or his

representative shall also assist the Commission. The

secretary shall have the duty of calling the meetings and

keeping the minutes and assume such other duties as the

Chairperson of the Authority may delegate to him.".

In sub-article (2) of article 58 of the principal Act, the word Amendment of

4. "Schedule" shall be substituted by the words "First Schedule".

Immediately after sub-article (2) of article 59 of the principal Amendment of

5. Act there shall be added the following new sub-articles

"(3) Any person may declare an interest in those

applications for authorisations falling under this article

and which the Minister, by virtue of regulations,

identifies for this purpose and, on the basis of issues

relevant to the environment, make representations on

such application. The said declaration of interest and the

representations shall be in writing and are to be received

by the Board of the Authority within such period as

established by regulations prescribed by the Minister. A

declaration that is not submitted within this stipulated

period shall be considered null and may not be considered

by the Board of the Authority.

(4) During the processing of the application, the

Board of the Authority shall consider representations

made by registered interested parties in accordance with

the provisions of sub-article (3).

(5) The Board of the Authority shall inform the

registe red intereste d parties of the Board of the

Authority’s sitting when such application shall be

discussed

Provided that such representations may be made

in any format deemed appropriate by the Board of the

Authority, and shall include representations received by

post or by hand and those submitted electronically

Provided further that if the last day for

submissions of representations as set out by the Board of

the Authority is a public holiday or a day when the offices

of the Authority are closed to the public, the time limit for

such submissions shall be deemed to expire the next

following working day.".

Article 63 of the principal Act shall be renumbered as sub- Amendment of

6. article (1) and immediately after there shall be added the following article

new sub-article

"(2) A registered interested party in accordance with

the provision of article 59(3) may file an appeal from a

decision of the Board of the Authority or of the

Commission relating to an environmental permit with the

Tribunal according to the Environment and Planning

Review Tribunal Act.".

Article 76 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

7. (a) in sub-article (3) thereof, the words "unauthorised

activities." shall be substituted by the words "unauthorised

activities:" and immediately after there shall be added the

following new provisos

"Provided that where the Authority believes that

there is an imminent danger to the environment, an

emergency order, which is effective immediately, may be

served on the above indicated persons

Provided further that an appeal from an

emergency order or the submission of an application for

an authorisation on the land to which the emergency

order relates shall not stay the effect of the emergency

order or the Authority from executing it."; and

(b) sub-article (4) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(4) The Authority shall register all stop and all

compliance orders in an index held for that purpose which

identifies the site subject to that order. The said index shall

be held in an electronic form in such a way that researches

to determine whether a site is subject to an order may be

carried out.".

Sub-article (1) of article 79 of the principal Act shall be

8. substituted by the following new sub-article

"(1) All expenses reasonably incurred by the Authority in

the exercise of its powers or any other amount due to the

Authority under this Act or regulations made thereunder, shall be

recoverable as a civil debt by the Authority from the person

against whom the order has been issued, or from any person

responsible in any manner for the acts mentioned in the order,

including an order for payment, or from an applicant, subject to

such right of recovery that such person may have against any

other person.".

The Schedule to the principal Act shall be renumbered as the Renumbering of

9. Schedule to the

First Schedule.

principal Act.

10. Immediately after the First Schedule to the principal Act, as Addition of new

Schedule to the

renumbered, there shall be added the following new Schedule

principal Act.

"SECOND SCHEDULE

(articles 6 and 10A)

Provisions with respect to the Board of the Authority

and the Commission

1. The provisions of this Schedule regulate the procedures to be

followed by the Board of the Authority and by the Commission.

Unless the context otherwise requires, for the purposes of this

Schedule, wherever the words "Board of the Authority" are used, they

are to be construed as to include the Commission.

2. The meetings of the Board of the Authority shall be called by

the Chairperson, and the said Board of the Authority shall meet at such

times as the Board may decide.

3. The Board of the Authority may act notwithstanding any

vacancy amongst its members, provided there is a quorum present at

the meeting.

4. The quorum of the Board of the Authority shall consist of half

the number of the members constituting the Board of the Authority, at

the time of the meeting, including the Chairperson or the deputy

Chairperson.

5. The Chairperson or the deputy Chairperson acting in his

place, shall have an original vote, and where the votes are equally

divided, he shall have a second or casting vote. All the members of the

Board of the Authority present at its meetings shall cast their vote in

favour or against any motion put to the vote. Decisions shall be

adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present.

6. Without prejudice to the provisions of article 13, a member of

the Board of the Authority who has a direct or indirect interest in any

matter coming before the Board of the Authority for its consideration

shall, not later than the first meeting held after the relevant

circumstances have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his

interest. The said disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the

meeting and the member

(a) shall not take part in any discussions or decisions of

the Board of the Authority with respect to that matter; and

(b) shall be disregarded for the purpose of constituting a

quorum for any such discussions or decisions.

7. All acts done by any person in good faith as a member of the

Board of the Authority shall be valid and effective as if he were a

member even if some defect in his qualification for appointment is

subsequently discovered.

8. Subject to the provisions of this Act, including this Schedule,

the Board of the Authority may regulate its own procedures.

9. The meetings of the Board of the Authority shall be open to

the public in the following cases

(a) determination of environmental permit applications

as the Minister may prescribe by regulations ;

(b) reconsideration

of

environmental

permits

in

accordance with article 62;

(c)

revocation or modification in accordance with article

65;

(d)

reconsiderations in accordance with article 69(6);

(e)

any other decision as the Minister may prescribe.

The Board of the Authority shall allow the applicant and his

representative, or any one of them, and registered interested parties

who made representations in accordance with the provision of article

59(3), to make submissions on any matter under consideration. The

Chairperson, at his absolute discretion, may also allow any other

member of the public to make submissions, subject to the power of the

Chairperson to exclude any member of the public if he deems it

necessary to do so for the maintenance of order and to limit the

participation of the applicant and his representative, or of the

registered interested parties who made representations in accordance

with the provision of article 59(3), or the public, as he may deem

appropriate

Provided that the Chairperson may, where he deems

appropriate, convene and conduct the meeting of the Board of the

Authority through such electronic or other viable means of

communication as he deems appropriate, in which case, the applicant

and his representative, or any of them, and a registered interested party

who made representations in accordance with the provision of article

59(3), and any member of the public who, in the absolute discretion of

the Chairperson, is allowed to make submissions, shall be allowed to

make submissions through such electronic or other viable means of

communication. The Chairperson may take all such measures, deemed

appropriate in his discretion, to ensure the proper conduct of the

meeting by electronic or other viable means. The Chairperson may

also consider holding hybrid meetings whereby Board of the Authority

members can attend either physically or by electronic means

Provided further that in order to allow a member of the public

to participate in the meeting held through electronic or other viable

means of communication as aforesaid, the Chairperson may, through a

notice posted on the Authority’s website, require that anyone

interested in participating in the said meeting, to register such interest,

in the manner therein indicated, at least one (1) working day before the

date of the meeting, in order to enable the Chairperson to take any

measure he deems appropriate to allow the participation of the

members of the public. Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted

as voiding or annulling the procedure or parts thereof, including any

decision taken by the Board of the Authority, should any member of

the public fail to participate in the proceedings, wherever allowed to

do so, due to the failure of the electronic or other viable means used to

conduct the meeting or his inability to do so

Provided further that a member of the public’s attendance or

participation during a meeting of the Board of the Authority shall not

be sufficient reason to provide juridical interest to any person to file an

appeal from a decision

Provided further that in case the Board of the Authority

conducts its meeting through electronic or other viable means of

communication, any reference in this Schedule to a quorum or any

reference made to the presence of or voting by the members of the

Board of the Authority at the meeting shall be construed accordingly

Provided further that meetings of the Board of the Authority

held through electronic or other viable means of communication in

accordance with this paragraph shall have the same effect at law as if

the said meetings were held physically.

10. Minutes of meetings held in public shall be made available to

the public on the Authority’s website.

Meetings of the Board of the Authority where the Directorates

are providing information to the Board of the Authority do not need to

be held in public but votes may not be taken.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 148 of the

12th July, 2023.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.90