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Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc v Delta Electricity.

Country/Territory
Australia
Type of court
Others
Date
Sep 9, 2009
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Judge
Pain.
Reference number
2009] NSWLEC 150
Language
English
Subject
Water, Legal questions
Keyword
Emission standards Water quality standards Environmental standards Freshwater quality/freshwater pollution Standards Effluent waste standards Noise standards Access-to-justice
Abstract
The Plaintiff argued that the Respondent had polluted a waterway and, as a consequence, had caused considerable damage to the surrounding habitat and wildlife. The Plaintiff commenced civil enforcement proceedings seeking declarations and orders in relation to possible breaches of s 120 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and made application for protective costs order limiting costs recoverable by either party. The case had special factors to identify it as one of public interest. Furthermore, the Plaintiff had no private interest and would be likely to drop the action if its liabilities were not capped at $20,000. The Court was also impressed that counsel for the Applicant was acting pro bono and conversely, if an order was made, the Respondent would not suffer financial hardship. They held that the case was not vexatious or frivolous. The Court capped recoverable costs for both parties, after having analysed the purpose of protective costs order in public interest cases, the factors to consider in making protective costs order and whether there was public interest in litigation.
Full text
COU-156665.pdf