Non-compliance reporting: questions and answers
Days means calendar days, this includes weekends and public holidays. Day 1 is the day that you become aware of a non-compliance.
You should tick the box ‘continuing’ if the non-compliance with a licence condition:
- has continued without interruption since the licensee became aware of it, and
- is still occurring at the time of reporting.
Report the non-compliance within 21 days of becoming aware of the first occurrence and include all dates it occurred within that period.
Yes, use the cloning function and update the fields that have changed.
Complete a report for each condition not complied with and use the cloning function where relevant.
It is an offence under the POEO Act to supply false or misleading information to the EPA. Licensees should ensure all information is accurate at the time of reporting it. If a clerical or inadvertent error is identified after submission, the licensee should email the EPA at [email protected] to explain the error and provide any corrected or additional information.
Select the non-compliance report in eConnect and use the “Additional Information” option.
Yes, please enter the pollution incident case report number provided by the EPA (REF-NO-XXXX) and attach the written details of the incident notification when submitting your non-compliance report.
For further information on reporting pollution incidents see Reporting and managing incidents.
No, non-compliances that are identified by the EPA in an environmental compliance audit do not need to be rereported. EPA environmental compliance audit reports are published on the POEO public register.
Yes, any non-compliance identified in a Mandatory Environmental Audit must be reported.
Report within 21 days of first becoming aware that a non-compliance occurred, including where the assessment period spans 12 months.
For example, if your licence includes an annual percentile concentration limit other than a 100 percentile limit, compliance may only be able to be assessed at the end of the licence reporting period (the 12-month period from the licence anniversary date). A 90 percentile concentration limit means that 90% of all samples collected over the reporting period must meet the pollutant concentration limit. You must check your specific licence conditions.
Missing monitoring data and/or samples may not be a non-compliance in some situations such as:
- The sampling point was dry (for example, a groundwater monitoring bore or surface water monitoring point) so that no sample could be collected.
- There was no discharge from a licensed discharge/monitoring point so that no sample could be collected.
The licensee must record the reason for a sample not being taken or data that is missing, in their monitoring records and retain these records.
The standard licence condition specifies that the limit must not be exceeded. For this condition, if the result is the same as the limit, it has not been exceeded and therefore is not a non-compliance.
Where continuous monitoring is undertaken, the system must be operated and maintained in a proper and efficient manner, ensuring that the availability of the monitoring system is maximised. Down time is acceptable for routine maintenance and calibrations in accordance with the equipment manufacturers specifications.
Where practicable, maintenance should be planned and undertaken during routine operations and avoided during periods when discharges or emissions may increase (for example, during changed operating conditions).
Non-compliance reporting requirements apply if imposed as conditions of the licence surrender, renovation or suspension. Licensees must comply with all conditions that remain in effect.
No. It does not apply to non-premises based scheduled activities for:
- environmentally hazardous chemicals
- transportation of trackable waste.
Licensees should contact the EPA to discuss any issues with licence conditions.