Engaging professionals who have the relevant qualifications, competencies and experience is important. Contaminated site assessments are inherently complex and usually present a wide range of issues requiring a multi-disciplinary approach, including scientific, technical and project management skills. Assessments must also meet relevant standards, quality assurance and regulatory requirements.
The only certified consultants scheme currently endorsed by the EPA is the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand Inc's Certified Environmental Practitioners (Site Contamination) or CEnvP (Site Contamination) scheme.
The list of certified consultants is available on the CEnvP website:
Find a CEnvP
To find Tasmanian certified consultants, click on the TAS tab and ensure that the consultant has a Certification Type of General CEnvP and Site Contamination (blue label).
A person must ensure they engage a consultant who is certified under the CEnvP (Site Contamination) scheme:
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when works are required by the Director, EPA to address land or groundwater contamination. The requirement to engage a CEnvP (Site Contamination) will be specified in a Notice issued under the Environmental Management & Pollution Control Act 1994.
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when the Director, in a Permit or Decommissioning and Rehabilitation Plan (DRP) guidelines relating to Level 2 premises, requires a CEnvP (Site Contamination) be engaged.
- to manage the environmental site assessment works and prepare the environmental site assessment report when an environmental site assessment is required under the
Environmental Management and Pollution Control (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems) Regulations 2020.
- to manage the environmental assessment of the area around a decommissioned underground fuel storage tank and prepare the Decommissioning Assessment Report, as required under Regulation 36(4) of the
Environmental Management and Pollution Control (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems) Regulations 2020.
- where the Director’s comment is sought to satisfy Local Government requirements in relation to proposed more sensitive land uses on contaminated or potentially contaminated land.
- where this is required by the Planning Authority in relation to a planning application. In relation to the Potentially Contaminated Land Code under the Statewide planning scheme, a consultant certified under the CEnvP (Site Contamination) scheme would be required to provide an environmental site assessment to satisfy P1 of the development or use standards or where an exemption is sought under C14.4.1(d). See Contaminated Land and the Planning Process.
All reports provided to satisfy these particular purposes must be prepared by a certified consultant. Independent reviews of reports prepared by non-certified consultants are no longer accepted by the EPA to satisfy the purposes specified in the dot points above.
This approach in no way limits the ability or appropriateness of site owners or Councils seeking independent reviews from a certified practitioner in order to guide their decision making.
Where a CEnvP(Site Contamination) conducts an assessment, the report must show their unique identifying number. A report provided by a CEnvP(Site Contamination) must include confirmation that all works and actions have been undertaken in accordance with the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure, 1999 as amended 2013.
It is important to note that although certified practitioners have achieved specified levels of experience and technical ability, such practitioners will nonetheless have specialisations. Ensure that your chosen practitioner has experience in the area of assessment required for your site (e.g. proven remediation experience may be appropriate).
For other site contamination assessments such as:
- Assessment of a possible leak or spill to determine if the site must be notified as a contaminated site;
- Due diligence works designed to quantify environmental liabilities prior to the purchase of a site or the commencement of a lease;
- Assessment at the end of a lease in accordance with a contract to ensure that a site has not been contaminated during the lifetime of a lease;
it is recommended that a CEnvP (Site Contamination) with experience in this area of work is used. You should consider whether the assessment is likely to lead to notification of a contaminated site to the Director as a regulatory Notice would require the use of a certified practitioner for further works. If you do not intend to use a certified practitioner, it is recommended that you refer to Schedule B9 of the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 which provides guidance on the competencies and experience necessary for professionals undertaking the assessment of contaminated land and preparing assessment reports.