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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To avoid adverse health and environmental impacts from land contamination.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Contaminated Sites Management System ensures that:

• environmental and health risks arising from the use of contaminated land are identified and the necessary remediation is undertaken;
   
• any change in the use of contaminated land to a more sensitive use includes an evaluation of the potential for adverse health and environmental impacts to enable necessary remediation to be undertaken;
   
• for orphan sites which constitute a health or environmental risk, the DPIWE undertake the necessary remediation and recover the associated costs as a charge against the land; and
   
• a database is developed, potentially linked to, or integrated with, The LIST, to identify those properties on which potentially contaminating activities have occurred (the database will initially concentrate on those potentially contaminating activities for which records are held by the Environment Division and Workplace Safety Tasmania).
   
• the assessment of sites contaminated, or potentially contaminated, by hazardous wastes comply with the guidelines set out in the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 (see also Waste Management).
   

Key issues

The assessment of contaminated sites 'conditions and trends' in this SoE Report is limited because of insufficient information to support such an assessment. Some of the key points from the information compiled to support the recommendation is as follows.

• Site contamination is an important environmental issue. It can result from such land uses as refuse disposal, timber preservation plants, service stations, petroleum storage areas, chemical manufacturing industries and gas works. The potential damage to an ecosystem, or to a community's health, can be significant and the financial costs of cleaning up the site can be high. Contamination commonly becomes a problem when a contaminated site is rezoned or redeveloped, particularly rezoning from an industrial to a residential zone. It is known that DPIWE is receiving an increasing number of reports and queries from potential developers looking at commercial and industrial sites that may contain contamination. This interest may be as a result of the recent growth in the property market.
   
• The number of suspected but not confirmed contaminated sites in Tasmania is unknown, but is likely to be in the order of many hundreds. In considering the numerous types of activities that can, potentially, contaminate a site, the total number of potentially contaminated sites in Tasmania (i.e. suspected but not confirmed to be contaminated) is in the order of many hundreds. Some indications of the scale of the problem are also available from other sections in this Report (see Hazardous Waste and Solid Waste issue reports).
   
• The number of known contaminated sites in Tasmania was 81 in May 1995. In 2003, the number stood at 67. The reduction in the number of sites could relate to rehabilitation and finalisation of sites since the last figures were prepared for the previous SoE Report in 1997. Alternatively, the reduction may relate to a greater awareness of the impact of contamination, or the financial consequences of having contaminated land and the associated liabilities. People may be taking action to remediate contaminated land when it occurs.
   
• While it has not been possible to provide a detailed assessment of the contaminated sites problem, the recommendation from the previous SoE Report is considered to remain valid in 2003, and is carried forward for consideration in 2003.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Progress in improving the management of contaminated sites includes the following initiatives through the Contaminated Sites Unit in DPIWE.

• The Environmentally Relevant Land Use Register (ERLUR) is being developed through the Contaminated Sites Unit in DPIWE. This is an electronic database, which has been designed for recording the location of properties where specific potentially contaminating activities have occurred. Currently, the ERLUR is not publicly accessible, but searches can be performed on request by contacting the Contaminated Sites Unit.
   
• Information Bulletins have been prepared to inform the community about contaminated sites issues. The Bulletins are available from the DPIWE web site.
   
• Amendments to Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 are being developed. The amendments will help to ensure that the following issues can be addressed:
   
• potentially contaminated sites are assessed before they are redeveloped for a more sensitive use;
   
• Environment Protection Notices can be served for sites which are contaminated as a result of historical activities;
   
• land owners will be required to report contamination that is causing, or may cause, environmental harm of their property; and
   
• development of consultants auditing/licensing system.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Settlements' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports