Duty to notify pollution incidents
There is a duty to report pollution incidents under section 148 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). This is a guide to the duty, in simple terms. Consult the POEO Act for details.
Contact numbers. For contact numbers regarding concerns about pollution, regardless of whether there is a duty to report pollution, see Reporting Pollution.
- Why notify?
- What must be notified?
Licensed premises ~ Emergency response ~ Contaminated land - Who must notify?
- Whom do you tell (appropriate regulatory authority)?
- What information must you provide?
- Incriminating information
- Checklist
- Penalties
- Examples
Effluent overflow ~ Chemical leak ~ Fertiliser spill - Further information
- Relevant legislative provisions
- Definition of 'pollution incident'
Why notify?
Leaks, spills and other pollution incidents can harm the environment. Your local council or the EPA needs to be informed of pollution incidents quickly, so that action can be coordinated to prevent or limit harm to the environment.
What must be notified?
Pollution incidents causing or threatening material harm to the environment must be notified.
A 'pollution incident' includes a leak, spill or escape of a substance, or circumstances in which this is likely to occur. 'Pollution incident' is defined in the Dictionary to the Act and is reproduced at the end of this document.
'Material harm to the environment' is defined in section 147. Material harm includes on-site harm, as well as harm to the environment beyond the premises where the pollution incident occurred.
Licensed premisesIf the EPA licenses the activity causing the incident, the licence conditions may include incident notification requirements that apply in addition to the duty under section 148.
Emergency response
If a pollution incident occurs, all necessary action should be taken to minimise the size and any adverse effects of the release. If adequate resources are not available to contain the release and if it threatens public health, property or the environment, the NSW Fire Brigades should be contacted for emergency assistance - phone 000.
In addition, if you need urgent advice on cleaning-up the incident or on the disposal of any resulting waste materials, EPA staff can be contacted 24-hours/day via Pollution Line on 131 555. If the NSW Fire Brigades are called, they may notify the EPA if they consider the environment or public health to be threatened. Notification by the NSW Fire Brigades does not negate the need for person carrying on the activity or the occupier of the premises to notify the appropriate regulatory authority (see below).
Contaminated land
The Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 contains particular provisions in relation to the duty to report land contamination presenting a significant risk of harm to human health or some other aspect of the environment: (Contaminated Sites - Guidelines on Significant Risk of Harm from Contaminated Land and the Duty to Report (revised July 2003) (PDF format: sroh.pdf, 164Kb).
Who must notify?
Under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act, the following people have a duty to notify a pollution incident occurring in the course of an activity that causes or threatens material harm to the environment:
- the person carrying on the activity;
- an employee or agent carrying on the activity;
- an employer carrying on the activity; and
- the occupier of the premises where the incident occurs.
Notification must be given as soon practicable after the person becomes aware of the incident.
You don't have to report if you know that the local council or the EPA has already been notified: section 151.
Only persons engaged in the activity resulting in the pollution incident, and occupiers of the land where the incident occurs, have a duty to report the incident.
If you are concerned about pollution, and an approach to the person causing the problem is not possible or is unlikely to be successful, please raise the concern with the relevant authority.
Whom do you tell (appropriate regulatory authority)?
Pollution incidents posing material harm to the environment should be notified to the appropriate regulatory authority. In most cases this is the local council. However if the EPA licenses the activity, or if a State or public authority carries on the activity, the EPA is the appropriate regulatory authority.
If in doubt as to who to notify, ring EPA's Pollution Line on 131 555.
What information must you provide?
In general terms, sufficient detail of the incident must be reported to enable appropriate follow-up action. The information required is listed in section 150.
Incriminating information
A person must notify even though the notification might incriminate the person. However the notification is not admissible in evidence against the person for an offence. This qualification does not relate to any evidence obtained following or as a result of the notification. The relevant provision is section 153.
Checklist
Could a spill or leak associated with your activity harm the environment? If so:
- are the people carrying out the activity, including casual or shift workers, or contractors, aware of their duty to notify?
- do they know who to notify?
- is the need for notification signposted or otherwise incorporated into operation and emergency procedures?
Penalties
If you fail to report a pollution incident posing material harm to the environment as required under Part 5.7 of the Act, you commit an offence. The maximum penalty is $1,000,000 for corporations, or $250,000 for individuals.
Examples
Effluent overflow
Part of your job is to manage an effluent treatment works. The works fail, resulting in an overflow likely to have an adverse affect on the ecosystem of a creek. You have a duty to notify your employer or, if that person cannot be contacted, the appropriate regulatory authority.
Chemical leak
A by-product of your company's manufacturing activity is a liquid chemical waste, which is stored in drums in a shed prior to collection by a waste contractor. There is no sign on the shed stating what to do if a leak occurs. A neighbour complains to the EPA about offensive odours and damage to vegetation near the shed. The EPA investigates, and finds leaking drums. The employees who knew about the leak believed that the waste contractor would attend to the problem, and did not advise company management. Your company is prosecuted for failure to notify the incident, in addition to other offences in relation to waste management. It is no defence that the relevant employees were ignorant of the duty to notify. Employers must take all reasonable steps, for example erecting a sign, to ensure that employees will notify them of incidents.
Fertiliser spill
Some fertiliser is spilled while it is being unloaded at a truck distribution centre. Someone inappropriately uses a hose to wash the spillage into the stormwater system. The centre supervisor advises the local council as soon as he or she becomes aware of what has happened. The local council is able to arrange for most of the nutrient-rich liquid to be trapped in the stormwater system and absorbed before it reaches natural watercourses. The distribution centre reimburses council for its clean-up expenses. The council does not prosecute the distribution centre for causing water pollution, or only issues a penalty notice, because of the cooperation shown, including through early notification of the incident.
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Further information
Your local council, or EPA's Pollution Line on 131 555.
Relevant legislative provisions
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (links are to the NSW legislation website):
- section 147: Meaning of material harm to the environment
- section 148: Pollution incidents causing or threatening material harm to the environment
- section 149: Manner and form of notification
- section 150: Relevant information to be given
- section 151: Incidents not required to be reported
- section 152: Offence for breaching duty to notify pollution incidents
- section 153: Incriminating information
Definition of 'pollution incident'
Pollution incident means an incident or set of circumstances during or as a consequence of which there is or is likely to be a leak, spill or other escape or deposit of a substance, as a result of which pollution has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur. It includes an incident or set of circumstances in which a substance has been placed or disposed of on premises, but it does not include an incident or set of circumstances involving only the emission of any noise.