Section 1: In this Act unless the context otherwise requires -

"adaptation" means adjustment to natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities; "Agency" means the Environment Protection Agency in Sierra Leone referred to in section 2; "air" includes air within a building, vehicle, an enclosure, structure or the air space of Sierra Leone; "air pollution" means a condition of the ambient air arising wholly or partly from the presence of one or more pollutants in the air that endangers the health, safety or welfare of persons or interferes with the normal enjoyment of life or property; "airspace" means the airspace within the territorial limits of Sierra Leone; "ambient air" means the atmosphere within and outside a structure or within an underground space; "authorised officer" means a person authorised by the Agency to exercise, in accordance with the terms of such authorisation, a power specified in this Act; "Board" means the Board of Directors established by section 3; "chemicals" means any chemical elements, its compounds, products "or preparation, in the natural or manufactured states and these may include but not limited to agro-chemicals, public health chemicals, explosives, chemicals used for mining purposes, petrochemicals" "chlorofluorocarbon" means a fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbon each molecule of which contains one, two or three carbonations in the categories set out in the Fourth Schedule; "climate change" means a change in the climate system which is caused by significant changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases as a consequence of human activities and which is in addition to natural climate change that has been observed during a considerable period; "controlled substance" includes chlorofluorocarbons, other fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons, halon, tetrachloride, 1,1,1, trichloroethane, methyl bromide whether they are virgin recovered recycled or reclaimed, but do not include any controlled substance- (a) which is in a manufactured product other than a container used for the transportation or storage of that substance; (b) originating from inadvertent or coincidental production during a manufacturing process, or from use as a processing agent which is present in chemical substance as trace impurities, or which is emitted during product manufacture or handling; "controlled product" means a product that contains, is made with, is dependent on or designed to contain a controlled substance; "discharge" includes deposit of effluents such as waste water, sewage and air borne emissions; "disposal" includes both land-based disposal and dumping in waters and the airspace of Sierra Leone; "emissions" in relation to a greenhouse gas, means emissions of that gas into the atmosphere where the emissions are attributable to human activity; 2 3 Interpretation. No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 5 emissions and enhancing potential sinks for greenhouse gases; "monitoring" includes the inspection, measurement, sampling or analysis of the discharge of a pollutant or of any environmental medium in any locality, whether periodically or continuously; "Multilateral Environmental Agreements Implementation Coordination Committee" means the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Implementation Coordination Committee established under section 66; "National Environment Compliance and Enforcement Coordination Committee" means the National Environment Compliance and Enforcement Coordination Committee established under section 67; "offshore facility" means any facility of any kind located over,in, on, or under any of the waters of Sierra Leone; "onshore facility" means any facility of any kind including motor vehicles and rolling stock, located over, in or under any land within Sierra Leone other than submerged land; "owner" includes- (a) in the case of a vessel the owner, operator or charterer of the vessel; "environment" includes land, air, water and all plants, animals and human beings living therein and the inter-relationship which exists among these or any of them; "Executive Chairman" means the Executive Chairman appointed under section 14; "greenhouse gas" includes - (a) carbon dioxide; (b) methane; (c) nitrous oxide; (d) hydrofluorocarbons; (e) perfluorocarbons; (f) sulphur hexafluoride; (g) indirect greenhouse gases; and (h) nitrogen trifluoride. "halon" means an abominated chemical related to a chlorofluorocarbon, used in firefighting and having a very high ozone depleting potential set out in column III of the Fourth Schedule including their isomers; “Leones (Le)” means leones in the old currency; "licence" means an environmental impact assessment licence issued under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 29; "Minister" means the Minister charged with responsibility for the environment and Ministry shall be construed accordingly; "mitigation" means efforts that seek to prevent or slow down the increase of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations by limiting current or future 4 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 (b) in the case of an onshore facility or an offshore facility, the owner or operator of such facility; (c) in the case of an abandoned offshore facility, the owner or operator of such facility immediately before its abandonment; and (d) in the case of a project, a person managing or controlling the project; "Paris Agreement" means the agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020; “Permit” means a permit granted by the Agency in accordance with this Act or the regulations made there under; "pollution" means natural, man-made or man-aided alteration of the chemical or biological quality oof the chemical, physical or biological quality of the environment to the extent that it is detrimental to the environment and human health or beyond acceptable limits; "project" means any activity which requires a licence under this Act; "Protocol" means the Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer adopted in Montreal, Canada in 1987. "removal" means removal of hazardous substances from the air, land or water, including shorelines or the taking of such other action as may be necessary to minimize damage to public health or welfare, ecology and natural resources of Sierra Leone; "spill" means any discharge of a pollutant into the environment from or out of a structure, worksite, vehicle, vessel, craft, or other carrier or container, which- (a) is abnormal having regards to all the circumstances of the discharge; (b) poses serious threat to human lives and safety; and (c) poses a serious threat to the environment; "standards" includes criteria and specifications; "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" means the international environmental treaty addressing climate change, negotiated and signed by 154 states at the United Nations Conference on Environment and D e v e l o p m e n t , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June, 1992, entered into force on 21 March, 1994; "waters of Sierra Leone" means all water resources in any form, including atmospheric, surface and subsurface and underground water resources whether the water resources are in territorial waters, exclusive economic zone or any area under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Sierra Leone; “wet-lands” means areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including the growing season. 6 7 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 No. 15 The Environment Protection Agency Act 2022 (a) one representative each, not below the rank of Director, from the following Ministries- (i) the Ministry of the Envionment (ii) the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources; (iii) the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; (iv) the Ministry of Trade and Industry; (v) the Ministry of Transport and Aviation; (vi) the Ministry of Energy; (vii) the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning. (b) the Executive Chairperson, Petroleum Regulatory Agency; (c) one representative from Civil Society Organization; (d) 3 persons, at least one of whom shall be a woman, knowledgeable in commerce, finance or law; and (e) the Chief Director, who shall be secretary to the Board without voting right. PART II- CONTINUATION OF ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY