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Contaminated sites

A contaminated site is a site in which:

  • a hazardous substance occurs at concentrations above background levels
  • where assessment indicates it poses, or could pose if land use is changed, an immediate or long-term risk of harm to human health or the environment.

Land contamination is usually the result of poorly managed activities or a lack of knowledge of the impacts certain substances have on human health and the environment.

In the past, hazardous substances have been manufactured, used and disposed of without full knowledge of the potential impacts of these activities on human health and the environment.

Examples of hazardous substances associated with activities known to have caused an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment through land contamination include:

  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
  • organochlorine pesticides (OCPs)
  • heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury
  • hydrocarbons.

Read the Hazardous Materials Environment Protection Policy (PDF 723 KB) for more information.

Although hazardous substances are generally managed in a responsible manner, there is still potential for land contamination to occur due to unforeseen circumstances, accidents or criminal acts.

Read the Contaminated Sites Environment Protection Policy (PDF 550KB) for more information.

Register of contaminated sites

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) administers the Environment Protection Act 1997 (the Act).

Read about the role of the EPA.

Under the Act, the EPA must keep a register of contaminated sites. Sites are included on the register when the EPA has:

  • issued orders relating to the assessment, remediation or ongoing management of a site or
  • requested an environmental audit of contaminated land to be undertaken.

View the register of contaminated sites.

Inclusion on the register

Sites are included on the register if:

  • they are subject to review by an approved contaminated land auditor requested by the EPA or
  • the EPA has received notification of the need for an audit. Sites are generally required to be audited where they are known to be, or have the potential to be, contaminated due to current or past activities at the site.

Advice on the particulars of the contamination, or potential contamination, of a site is usually provided by an environmental consultant who assesses the site. This assessment is then reviewed by an approved auditor. This information may be subject to commercial in confidence considerations.

Sites subject to the following are recorded on the register:

  • the EPA has issued an Environment Protection Order (an Order) under 91C(1) of the Act to assess whether land is contaminated
  • the EPA has issued an Order under subsection 91D(1) of the Act to remediate contaminated land
  • the EPA has issued an Order under subsection 125(2) or subsection 125(3) of the Act to manage contaminated land
  • the EPA has required an environmental audit of a site under subsection 76(2) or
  • the EPA has received a notice under section 76A(1) that an auditor has been engaged to undertake an audit under the Act or another Act. This will typically be under the Planning and Development Act 2007 where a condition of development approval requires that an auditor be engaged to verify the assessment and any required remediation of a site as part of its redevelopment, such as the redevelopment of former service station sites for residential purposes.

If you have any further concerns or believe a site should not be on the register, call Access Canberra on 13 22 81.

The register does not include all contaminated sites recorded by the EPA. It only records those sites subject to an audit by an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) approved auditor as required under subsection 76(2), 76A(1), 91C(1), 91D(1), 125(2) or 125(3) of the Environment Protection Act 1997. These sites have been determined to have the greatest potential to cause harm to human health or the environment.

Information on contaminated sites:

  • is recorded in the EPA's contaminated sites geographic information system and contaminated sites management database
  • can be obtained by undertaking an online (fees apply)
  • is flagged in the lease conveyancing enquiry required when purchasing properties in the ACT.

Exclusion from the register

Operational sites

Operational sites that have the greatest risk of causing environmental harm are generally subject to authorisation or licensing under the Environment Protection Act 1997.

These sites would only be entered on the register in the event of an incident that has led to contamination of the land which requires the site to be assessed, remediated if required, and subject to an independent audit.

The management of these sites and conditions imposed by the EPA should generally prevent contamination occurring. However, there are sites on the register which are operational due to incidents or failures to effectively manage the activities at the site.

In some cases, this will also be as a result of past management practices, which may not have been regulated or subject to the level of management that is common today.

All sites, including those on the register, are recorded in the contaminated sites geographic information system and/or the contaminated sites management database.

Mr Fluffy sites

Mr Fluffy sites in the ACT do not meet the notification requirements for contaminated land under the Environment Protection Act 1997.

The clean up of these sites is considered as hazardous materials abatement, not the remediation of contaminated land requiring independent audit, and therefore not required to be listed on the register.

Removal from the register

The site is removed from the register:

  • once it has been assessed, remediated if necessary, and independently audited as suitable for the proposed land use and
  • no ongoing management is required.

Sites subject to the following must be removed from the register by the EPA when:

  • the EPA has not issued a remediation or environmental protection order to manage any contamination that remains on the site (within 60 days of the EPA receiving an environmental audit of the assessment)
  • the EPA has not entered into an environmental protection agreement to manage any remaining contamination (within 60 days of the EPA receiving an environmental audit of the assessment)
  • a condition or annotation has not been included on a crown lease or title for the land in relation to an environmental audit to manage any remaining contamination or
  • the EPA has decided, based on advice from an approved auditor, that ongoing management of the land is no longer required.

In any other case, a site entered in the register will remain on the register in perpetuity.

Apply for a contaminated land search

Information can be obtained by applying for a contaminated land search. To apply:

  1. Use the Contaminated land search application form.
  2. Pay the fee.

Current fees are available on the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate website.

Apply for a contaminated land search

Notify the EPA of contamination

Once aware the land they occupy is contaminated in a way that may present harm to human health or the environment, a lessee or occupier of land must notify the EPA in writing as soon as practicable.

To notify:

  1. Use the Contaminated land notification form (PDF 184KB) (DOC 76KB)
  2. Submit the form:

Information sheets

The EPA has developed information sheets to assist industry to understand their obligations under the Act in relation to contaminated sites.