Review of the Contaminated Land Management Act
Contaminated Land Management Amendment Act 2008
The Contaminated Land Management Amendment Act 2008 (Amending Act) received assent on 10 December 2008, following an extensive period of consultation. It can be accessed on the NSW Legislation website here.
The purpose of the amendments is to allow sites to be cleaned up more efficiently while reinforcing the "polluter pays" principle. They will:
- introduce a new power to enable the EPA to require certain persons to carry out a preliminary investigation of site contamination;
- amalgamate the investigation and remediation stages into a single "management" stage that can cover investigation, remediation or both;
- remove the concept of "significant risk of harm";
- enable the EPA to declare land to be "significantly contaminated land" if it has reason to believe that land is contaminated and the contaminated is significant enough to warrant regulation;
- enable management orders to be issued to any one or more persons who are responsible for the contamination of land;
- enable the EPA to issue a management order or to withdraw its approval of a voluntary management proposal that has not delivered a satisfactory outcome in managing contamination;
- enable the EPA to recover certain administrative costs associated with preliminary investigation orders and voluntary management proposals;
- provide a more objective basis for the duty to notify the EPA of contaminated land based on criteria to be listed in new guidelines;
- require land owners and persons carrying out certain activities to notify the EPA of contamination when it becomes aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware, of that contamination;
- clarify that the EPA and local authorities can disclose site audit statements and reports that relate to statutory site audits;
- introduce a new power for the Minister to enter into offset arrangements where the person responsible for the contamination can mitigate the impact of contamination if remediation is not feasible within a reasonable time; and
- expand the penalty for providing false and misleading information to the EPA.
The EPA is currently developing new guidelines for the duty to notify the EPA of contaminated land. A draft copy of these guidelines will be available for comment in 2009.
Commencement
The majority of the provisions in the Amending Act will commence on proclamation which is anticipated to be 1 June 2009.
Some minor amendments commenced on assent of the CLM Bill on 10 December 2008, including:
- the introduction of a general offence for providing false and misleading information;
- the removal of the "no knowledge" defence for directors and other persons concerned in the management of a corporation that has contravened the Act or the regulations;
- an amendment to enable the DECC to make certain minor amendments to guidelines without carrying out public consultation; and
- changes to provisions relating to penalty notices.
Proposed Amendments to the Contaminated Land Management Act (Archive)
The draft Contaminated Land Management Amendment Bill 2007 (CLM Bill) is an important enhancement to the CLM Act. The CLM Bill (see below) was prepared in response to the review of the CLM Act.
- Download CLM Bill, clmbill.pdf (790kb, requires Acrobat Reader)
Summary
The review highlighted areas which will provide greater clarity, as well as simplify and streamline regulatory procedures under the CLM Act. Briefly, the amendments include:
- New powers to order a preliminary investigation to assist the EPA with decision making;
- Streamline the two distinct investigation and remediation stages;
- Clarification that more than one individual may be the persons responsible for contamination;
- New regulation-making powers for pollution "off-set" programs (introduction of any off-set program will be the subject of a new regulation and further public consultation);
- Clarification that the EPA can approve a voluntary proposal subject to conditions;
- Ensuring the EPA can issue notices under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act (POEO Act) in connection with the regulation of a contaminated site under the CLM Act;
- New terminology for sites regulated under the CLM Act;
- Providing a set of clearer, more objective criteria for the triggers to report contamination to the EPA;
- Enabling EPA or a local authority to disclose information with regard to statutory site audits;
- Creating an offence of providing false or misleading information; and
- Making other minor housekeeping amendments.
Comments and submissions
You are invited to make comments and submissions to the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) in relation to the CLM Bill:
By email to : clm.bill@environment.nsw.gov.au
By post to: the Manager, Contaminated Sites Section, Department of Environment and Climate Change, PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232.
Comments and submissions should be received in writing before close of business on 12th October 2007.
Review of the Contaminated Land Management Act
The review of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (CLM Act) in 2003 reflects the commitment of the New South Wales Government to the ongoing improvement of the management of contaminated sites to ensure that human health and the environment are protected.
Process leading to the proposed amendment
The CLM Act was reviewed in 2003. Public consultation is a very important aspect of the CLM Act review. The review process included the release of an issues paper in July 2003, followed by a series of five public consultation meetings held in Wollongong, Armidale, Newcastle, Parramatta and Sydney. In total, 135 participants attended these forums. They were run by an independent facilitator and were open to anyone who wished to contribute to the review of the Act.
At the meetings participants were divided into small discussion groups, each with its own facilitator, and the outcomes of the discussions were reported back to the full gathering. Participants' comments in both the discussion groups and the report-back sessions were recorded in writing, and participants were sent a copy. A further 13 written submissions were received by the EPA from a variety of organisations and individuals.
- Download issues paper, clmissuespaper.pdf (195kb, requires Acrobat Reader)
Outcomes of the review
A report summarising the findings of the review was tabled in Parliament. It draws on the results of public meetings and written submissions and on general feedback from the public and within the Department of Environment and Conservation.
- Download report, Review of the Contaminated Land Management Act (clmreviewpaper.pdf, 238kb, requires Acrobat Reader)