Contaminated Land Audits
Contaminated Land Audits
Contaminated land audits are required if a property is being rezoned to a more “sensitive land use, for example, from commercial to residential, or if a request has been made to remove land from the Contaminated Sites Register (an official list of badly polluted sites), or if land has specific audit requirements under an EPA Victoria notice. In certain circumstances an audit may also be requested where the above does not apply.
In Victoria, the EPA appoints Contaminated Land Auditors. Their function is to ensure that audited land meets the specifications for a desired end use. Consequently, they must be independent of the consultant engaged to assess or clean up the property. Atma Environmental acts as an assessor of contaminated land in support of the contaminated land auditing process.
We Know The Contaminated Land Audit Process and Can Add Value To Your Projects By Expertly Guiding You Through It
Environmental auditing of a site can be a protracted exercise involving soil and groundwater assessment, human health risk assessment, determination of Clean Up To the Extent Practicable (CUTEP) of contaminated groundwater, and off-site testing. Atma Environmental is able to conduct or manage any aspect required and we will do it as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
A contaminated land audit may identify environmental contamination issues that require rectification or management. We can complete any site remediation works required by the auditor and we can also provide advice on your best course of action, for example, sometimes management of site contamination is a preferred outcome because it is adequate for the sites use and less costly than remediation. Whatever the circumstances, you can rely on Atma Environmental to provide you with all relevant options and to recommend a course of action best suited to your needs, timing and budget.
Results of a Contaminated Land Audit
As noted, complete and total clean up of contaminated land is not always required. A contaminated land audit may be completed on a site that contains some ‘residual contamination’, and the auditor has issued a ‘Statement of Environmental Audit’. Development on this land can then proceed, as long as the contamination is in keeping with acceptable land use.
The Statement of Environmental Audit may contain certain conditions, particularly if the site has been found to be a source site of contamination. Sites having a completed Statement of Environmental Audit may require:
- Ongoing Groundwater Quality Management Plan;
- Soil Contamination Management Plan; or
- Further soil/health-risk assessment requirements if disturbed.
Atma Environmental provides the site assessment and remediation to conclude the Contaminated Land Audit and the Post-Environmental Audit consulting services that may be required for management of contamination over the long-term.
