New South Wales Government

Department of

Environment and Climate Change

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General information

Design of new premises

If you are building new premises or making modifications, contact your local council first to see what its requirements are. It is crucial throughout the design and application stage that you consider your environmental responsibilities and get it right the first time.

Bunding

• A bund is a low wall built to contain liquids. It can be made of any impervious material (i.e. liquids can't flow through).
• Bunded chemical storage units can be purchased for smaller chemical storage needs or bunding can be constructed in situ.
• A bund should be large enough to hold the contents of the largest container plus 10% of its volume.
• Outdoor bunded areas should be roofed to prevent rain entering them and washing pollutants out or rusting metal drums. Check with WorkCover NSW regarding safety considerations before installing a roof over bunded chemicals.
• A bund should be regularly maintained appropriately operated.
• If the walls and workshop floor are well sealed, a small concrete hump or flexible rubber hump can be installed at all doors of the workshop. Oils and chemicals can be stored anywhere inside a workshop that is fully bunded in this way.
• Additional information on bunding and spill management is available from the DECC Environment Line, Phone: 131 555

Environmental management systems and plans

• An environmental management system can include an environmental management program or plan for your business; a written environmental policy; a regular  environmental review process; and a demonstrated commitment by management and staff to meet and maintain the standards set out in your plan.
• Prepare a comprehensive maintenance plan or schedule for your business and follow it every day. Activities should include maintaining the oil separator
  and pump, cleaning the pit and checking stormwater drains.  Use the sample daily and weekly checklists and amend to meet your needs. INSERT LINK HERE
• Involve staff in developing environmental management procedures. If they contributed to it, they're more likely to follow it. The procedures can form the basis for your premises' environmental plan.

Employee training

• Train your staff in the environmental aspects of their work and in the methods and procedures in this guide. Show them:
  • where the stormwater drains are
  • how to clean up a spill
  • where to dismantle parts
  • how to drain liquids into trays when dismantling.

Our Environmental Management Plan (Some ideas for you to use in preparing your plan) Our environmental commitment and policy This business cares about the environment, and we ask our customers to do the same. We will do our best to continually improve our environmental performance and to make sure that our activities do not harm the water, air or ground. Our plan At least twice a year we will use an environmental checklist to work out where we can make some environmental improvements. Every day we will check all the stormwater drains on our premises to make sure that no oil, chemicals or litter is going into them. At the end of each day we will clean and tidy up all work areas. Twice a year one of us will look at opportunities for reusing or recycling some of the wastes that are currently going into our waste skip. We aim to clean up any spills and leaks as they happen. We keep spill clean-up material in a designated space.  By the end of this year we will put in a bunded area for storing our liquid wastes and chemicals.