Note: On 21 March 2012 Sydney Water provided an update on actions required under this Order.

 

Environment Protection Authority

 

Remediation order

 

Section 23 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997

 

 

HO1833

23004/ Area #3151

 

Service: By Registered Mail to Registered Office and Principal Place of Business

 

Sydney Water Corporation (ABN)

115-123 Bathurst Street

SYDNEY NSW 2000

 

Attention: Managing Director 

 

Background

 

A.      On 25 August 2000 the Environment Protection Authority (“EPA”) declared the bed sediments of the Alexandra Canal between Huntley Street, Alexandria and the junction of Alexandra Canal with the Cooks River at Mascot, being Lot 1 DP 532493, Lot 1 DP749404 and Lot 3 DP878489 (“the site”) within the local government areas of Botany Bay, Marrickville and South Sydney as a remediation site.

 

B.     The bed sediments at the site have been found to be contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons including organochlorine pesticides (chlordane, total DDT and dieldrin), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals (“the contaminants”) in such a way as to present a significant risk of harm to human health and the environment.

 

C.     The EPA has considered the matters in s.9 of the Contaminated Land Management Act (“the Act”) and found that the contamination at the site presents a significant risk of harm because

·        Harm is being caused to the benthic biota that is in contact with the contaminants in the sediments;

·        Harm may be caused to humans from the increased risk associated with the consumption of contaminated fish; and

·        Disturbance of the sediments would mobilise the contaminants and hence increase the risk of harm. 

 

D.     The EPA has considered all submissions made as to whether an order should be made. 

 

E.     There are no other persons who are required to be served with a copy of this order for the purposes of s.24(3) of the Act.

 

Action required by this order

 

By this order, the EPA orders Sydney Water Corporation (“Sydney Water”), being the owner of the site, to do the following:

 

  1. Sydney Water must refrain from carrying out, or from causing, permitting or allowing its agents, contractors, licensees or lessees from carrying out, any works or activities on the bed sediments of the site that would result in the disturbance, or further disturbance, of the bed sediments except as provided by this Order.

 

Examples of the types of works or activities that may come within the scope of this Order include construction and maintenance work relating to dredging activities or boating facilities (such as piers, wharves, slipways or marinas).

 

2.      Prior to the conduct of works or activities coming within the terms of requirement 1, Sydney Water must prepare and submit for the EPA’s approval a written plan directed at minimising the disturbance and migration of contaminated sediments at the site. The EPA may approve the plan or aspects of the plan as submitted or approve the plan subject to a requirement that additional mitigation measures must be implemented.

 

This provision is waived for emergency works that are required to protect the safety or property of persons involved in the emergency (eg repairs to collapsed canal wall during flood).  In this case the EPA must be notified of the situation and the actions being undertaken.

 

3.      Any works or activities the subject of an approved plan must be performed in accordance with the plan.

 

4.      The plan submitted to the EPA for its approval must be prepared in accordance with the EPA publication titled Guidelines for Consultants Reporting on Contaminated Sites, dated November 1997, as it relates to investigation and or remedial action plans. 

 

  1. Sydney Water must also, as far as reasonable, ensure that other persons who may carry out works or activities on the bed sediments of the site are made aware of this Order and are advised not to do anything inconsistent with the Order.  Without limiting what Sydney Water is required to do to comply with this requirement, it must

 

a)      develop and implement an information campaign to alert people near the site to the requirements of this Order;

b)      erect signs along the length of the canal at 1 kilometre intervals to alert users of the canal about the requirements of this Order;

c)      liaise with and provide information to relevant councils about the

requirements of this Order.

 

6.      A copy of the documentation recording the information campaign must be provided to the EPA by (date to be inserted).  

 

 

[SIGNED]

 

CAROLYN STRANGE

Director Contaminated Sites

Department of Environment and Conservation

 (by Delegation)

 

 

Date:  10 May 2004

 

NOTE:

 

Relationship to other regulatory instruments

This Order does not affect the requirement to comply with the provisions of any applicable environmental planning instruments, pollution reduction programs or the provisions of any other environmental protection legislation administered by the EPA.

 

Failure to comply with this Order

It is an offence to fail to comply with a remediation order. Heavy penalties may be imposed if you are convicted of this offence by the Land and Environment Court.

 

Information recorded by the EPA

Section 58 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 requires the EPA to maintain a public record.  A copy of this remediation order will be included in the public record.

 

Information recorded by councils

Section 59 of the Act requires the EPA to notify the relevant local council as soon as practicable after an order is made.  The council is then required to note on its planning certificate issued pursuant to s.149(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act that the land is currently subject to a remediation order.  The EPA is required to notify council as soon as practicable when the order is no longer in force and the notation on the s.149(2) certificate can be removed.

Guidelines made by the EPA

Note: All references in the EPA's contaminated sites guidelines to the Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters (ANZECC, November 1992) are replaced as of 6 September 2001 by references to the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC and ARMCANZ, October 2000), subject to the same terms.

Guidelines approved by the EPA

ANZECC publications

EnHealth publications (formerly National Environmental Health Forum monographs)

National Environment Protection Council publications

The Measure consists of a policy framework for the assessment of site contamination, Schedule A (Recommended General Process for the Assessment of Site Contamination) and Schedule B (Guidelines). Schedule B guidelines include:

B(1) Guideline on Investigation Levels for Soil and Groundwater

B(2) Guideline on Data Collection, Sample Design and Reporting

B(3) Guideline on Laboratory Analysis of Potentially Contaminated Soils

B(4) Guideline on Health Risk Assessment Methodology

B(5) Guideline on Ecological Risk Assessment

B(6) Guideline on Risk Based Assessment of Groundwater Contamination

B(7a) Guideline on Health-Based Investigation Levels

B(7b) Guideline on Exposure Scenarios and Exposure Settings

B(8) Guideline on Community Consultation and Risk Communication

B(9) Guideline on Protection of Health and the Environment During the Assessment of Site Contamination

B(10) Guideline on Competencies & Acceptance of Environmental Auditors and Related Professionals

Other documents