Insiza Rural District Council (Environmental and Natural Resources Conservation) By-laws, 2025
Insiza makes it an offence to start a project without lodging EIA papers with the council, requires rehabilitation plans before any mining or extraction closes, and lets the council rehabilitate land and bill the owner.
These by-laws set out the Insiza Rural District Council's environmental regime: a local environment action plan, grazing and cultivation areas, conservation of natural resources, waste management sites, environmental impact assessments, rehabilitation on abandonment, environmental works by the council, burning of vegetation and fire prevention, invasive alien species, protection of wetlands, an environment committee and sub-committee, sleighs and farming implements, cutting of trees and forest produce, extraction of gravel, sand and stone, brick making and protection of water sources.
EIA compliance is enforced directly. Copies of EIA documents are available on payment of a fee, information in them may not be used for personal benefit and must be handled in line with section 108 of the Environmental Management Act, and the council monitors implementation jointly with EMA. It is an offence for a project developer to start operations without lodging with the council a copy of the EIA report, the EIA certificate issued by EMA's Director-General, or the developer's annual environmental management plan, with a fine in the Third Schedule.
Anyone undertaking a project for commercial exploitation of natural resources, including mining and extraction projects that cause environmental damage, must lodge a rehabilitation plan covering the works to be done before abandonment or closure, and must rehabilitate before closing; failing to do so is an offence.
Where an owner or occupier asks the council to carry out environmental works, or fails to do them, the council may do the work and recover its costs from the owner or occupier.
The extract available here was truncated before the remaining sections and the schedules, so the fee and penalty amounts should be read in the instrument itself.
What changed
- Starting a project without lodging EIA documents with the council is an offence
- Rehabilitation plans must be lodged before commercial resource extraction and the site rehabilitated before closure
- The council may carry out environmental works and recover the cost from the owner or occupier
- EIA information may not be used for personal benefit, in line with section 108 of the Environmental Management Act
- The by-laws also regulate wetlands, invasive species, tree cutting, waste sites and brick making
Who this affects
- Land owners and occupiers in Insiza district
- Mining and resource extraction project developers
- Farmers burning vegetation or clearing land
- Council environment committees and EMA
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.