“Contaminated site” as defined in Section 74A (2) of Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA) but can be paraphrased as:
- land that contains a pollutant in a concentration above naturally occurring levels, which is (or is likely to be) causing serious or material environmental harm or environmental nuisance; or
- land that contains a pollutant in a concentration above naturally occurring levels, which is likely to cause serious or material environmental harm or environmental nuisance in the future if not managed appropriately.
Owners or occupiers of actual or likely contaminated sites are required by legislation (Section 74B of EMPCA) to promptly inform the Director, Environment Protection Authority when they become aware of this contamination.
Section 74B notifications are required for sites with historical pollution where contaminants exist, or are likely to exist, at levels that constitute a ‘contaminated site’. Section 32 of EMPCA also addresses duty to notify but is focussed on releases of a pollutant(s) occurring as a result of an incident such as an accident or process malfunction.
Full details of notification obligations under Section 74B are provided in Information Bulletin 101 - Notification of a Contaminated Site:
Information Bulletin 101 - Notification of a Contaminated Site (129Kb)
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All notifications under Section 74B of EMPCA should be made using the Reporting a Contaminated Site Form:
Reporting a Contaminated Site Form (181Kb)
and must be posted or emailed to the following address:
Director, EPA
134 Macquarie Street
Hobart TAS 7000
AUSTRALIA
Email: Enquiries@epa.tas.gov.au
Please include a subject heading “Notification of a contaminated site under S 74B EMPCA”
Where the situation requires urgent attention an after-hours report of pollution or an environmental incident can be made to the Incident Response Officer on 1800 005 171.
When a Notification is received under Section 74B the Director will consider whether it is appropriate to serve a Notice under Part 5A of EMPCA.