Pollution
Pollution is in three main forms: air pollution, water pollution and noise pollution. The primary piece of legislation in NSW that regulates these forms of pollution is the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 . The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the pollution regulator in NSW. It has been integrated into the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), which is responsible for the administration of this legislation.
1. Environmental Protection Licences
Pollution in NSW is regulated through a system of licences. Environment Protection Licences are required where works and activities are listed in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 . These are called scheduled activities. A list of these activities is found here:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/poteoa1997455/sch1.html
Environment Protection Licences are usually granted with conditions attached. These conditions are designed to prevent/minimise pollution and environmental degradation. Licence conditions relate to pollution prevention and monitoring, and cleaner production through recycling and reuse and the implementation of best practice.
Under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 there is a requirement for the EPA to keep a public pollution register. The register includes:
- details of each licence application;
- details of each decision made in respect of any such licence application;
- details of each licence issued;
- details of variations of the conditions of licences;
- details of each decision to suspend, revoke or approve the surrender of any such licence (including details of any conditions to which it is subject);
- details of each environment protection notice or noise control notice issued by that authority;
- details of convictions in prosecutions under this Act instituted by that authority; and
- the results of civil proceedings before the Land and Environment Court under this Act by or against that authority.
This information is publicly accessible online through three different registers. These registers should be used if you are concerned about pollution from a particular property or business. This will help you determine whether the activity causing the pollution is licensed and whether the licence conditions are being complied with.
List of licences
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/prpoeo/licences.htm
Search for licences
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/prpoeoapp/searchregister.aspx
Search for convictions in prosecutions or results of civil proceedings
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/prpoeo/searchcases.aspx
Annual Returns
Holders of EP licences are also required to lodge annual returns. The Annual Return is completed by a licensee in order to provide feedback to the EPA about its environmental performance. It requires completion of a monitoring summary and certification that it has complied, or has not complied, with the conditions attached to the licence. Details of non-compliances that occurred during the reporting period must be provided in the Annual Return. These returns are publicly accessible. The register of returns is found here:
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/poeo/
2. Contaminated Land
Contaminated lands in NSW are governed by the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 . The contamination of land is defined as:
the presence in, on or under the land of a substance at a concentration above the concentration at which the substance is normally present in, on or under (respectively) land in the same locality, being a presence that presents a risk of harm to human health or any other aspect of the environment.
The EPA is the regulatory authority responsible for contaminated lands in NSW. It is required to keep a publicly accessible register of notices issued in relation to contaminated lands in NSW. The register contains:
- copies of written notices issued by the EPA in relation to the investigation or remediation of site contamination that presents a significant risk of harm;
- the names of the sites, owners or occupiers at the time of EPA action in relation to the site; and
- copies of site audit statements (SAS) provided to the EPA relating to land that is the subject of an in-force EPA declaration or order at the time the SAS is issued.
It is important to note that the register is not a record of all contaminated land in NSW. It lists only those sites for which the EPA has issued a notice after determining that the contamination poses a significant risk of harm. Information on contaminated sites over which no notice has been given may be requested through a FOI application.
The register is publicly available online at:
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/clmapp/aboutregister.aspx