As mentioned in our October Newsletter, the Hunter JO recently ran a series of workshops with councils across the region throughout October, focused on building capacity within councils for management of Contaminated Land. A total of 45 attendees participated in these workshops, from across all of our ten Hunter JO member councils, as well as Central Coast Council.

The workshops targeting land use planning and Environmental Health & Compliance staff, focused on two key areas of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997;

• Conducting an initial review of the potential for contamination, and;
• Initiating the investigation and remediation process.

The release of two new Model Regional Procedures accompanied the workshops, focusing on:

Conducting an Initial Review By Council

This document assists Councils to accurately and consistently undertake an Initial Review, to determine whether contamination needs to be addressed during the assessment of a Planning Application (as required by SEPP 55), and to therefore determine whether further information is required for Council to conduct its planning functions in good faith.

Click HERE to access the document.

Initiating the Investigation, Remediation and Site Audit Process

This document outlines the procedures for initiating the investigation, remediation and site audit process (though the land use planning function), and provides context to the stages of the process. It will assist Council in considering the possibility that the previous and/or current land uses, and/or a nearby land uses, have caused contamination of the site, and the potential risk to human health and the environment from that contamination.

Click HERE to access the document.

Draft UPSS Guidelines

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has developed new Guidelines for Implementing the Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems) Regulation 2019 (the Regulation). The Hunter JO has coordinated feedback from Councils to the EPA on the draft Guidelines, which are designed to help people who operate underground petroleum storage systems, or underground fuel tanks, comply with the current Regulation. The new Guidelines reflect best industry practice and support the current Regulation, which requires operators to report on and fix leaks quickly.

The guidelines are set to be released in early 2021.

Read more about the Hunter JO’s Contaminated Land Program. 

For more information on our Contaminated Land Program or to express interest in similar future sessions please contact:

Peter Brennan – Regional Program Manager, Contaminated Lands, peterb@hunterjo.com.au P 4978 4024