Duty to notify pollution incidents
There is a duty to notify pollution incidents under section 148 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). Leaks, spills and other pollution incidents can harm the environment and human health and the appropriate authorities need to be informed so action can be taken to prevent or limit harm.
This page provides guidance about the duty. Consult the POEO Act for details.
Contact numbers - For contact numbers regarding concerns about pollution, regardless of whether there is a duty to report pollution, see Reporting pollution.
What must be notified?
Pollution incidents causing or threatening material harm to the environment must be notified.
'Pollution incident' is defined in the Dictionary to the POEO Act. A pollution incident includes a leak, spill or escape of a substance, or circumstances in which this is likely to occur.
'Material harm to the environment' is defined in section 147 of the POEO Act. Material harm includes on-site harm, as well as harm to the environment beyond the premises where the pollution incident occurred.
Licensed premises
If the EPA licenses the activity causing the incident, the licence conditions may include incident notification requirements that apply in addition to the duty under section 148 of the POEO Act.
Emergency response
If a pollution incident occurs, all necessary action should be taken to minimise the size and any adverse effects of the release. If the incident presents an immediate threat to human health or property, Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Police and the NSW Ambulance Service should be contacted first for emergency assistance - phone 000. The other response agencies must still be contacted after that to satisfy notification obligations.
Contaminated land
Persons whose activities have contaminated land and owners of land who become aware, or ought reasonably to have been aware, that the land has been contaminated must notify the EPA as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the contamination, if the contamination meets certain criteria. The duty to notify is a requirement under section 60 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997.
For more information on the duty to report contamination see Contaminated Land regulation.
Who must notify?
Under the POEO Act, the following people have a duty to notify a pollution incident occurring in the course of an activity that causes or threatens material harm to the environment:
- the person carrying on the activity
- an employee or agent carrying on the activity
- an employer carrying on the activity
- the occupier of the premises where the incident occurs
Notification must be given immediately (i.e. promptly and without delay) after the person becomes aware of the incident.
You do not have to notify if you know that all relevant authorities have already been notified by the licensee: section 151 of the POEO Act.
Only persons engaged in the activity resulting in the pollution incident, and occupiers of the land where the incident occurs, have a duty to notify the incident.
If you are concerned about pollution, and an approach to the person causing the problem is not possible or is unlikely to be successful, please raise the concern with the relevant authority.
Who do you notify (relevant authorities)?
Pollution incidents posing material harm to the environment should be notified to each 'relevant authority' as defined in section 148(8) of the POEO Act. 'Relevant authority' means:
- the appropriate regulatory authority (ARA)
- the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) if they are not the ARA
- SafeWork NSW
- the local authority (e.g. the local council) if this is not the ARA
- Fire and Rescue NSW.
For holders of environment protection licences, all necessary contact numbers should be listed in the Pollution Incident Response Management Plan for the licence so they can be immediately accessed in the event of a pollution incident that needs to be notified.
What information must you provide?
In general terms, sufficient detail of the incident must be notified to enable appropriate follow-up action. The information required is listed in section 150 of the POEO Act. Any required information that is not known when the incident is notified must be notified immediately once it becomes known.
Incriminating information
A person must notify even though the notification might incriminate the person: section 153 of the POEO Act. However the notification is not admissible in evidence against the person for an offence. This qualification does not relate to any evidence obtained following or as a result of the notification.
Checklist
Could a spill or leak associated with your activity harm the environment? If so:
- are the people carrying out the activity, including casual or shift workers, or contractors, aware of their duty to notify?
- do they know who to notify?
- is the need for notification signposted or otherwise incorporated into operations and emergency procedures?
Penalties
If you fail to notify a pollution incident posing material harm to the environment as required under Part 5.7 of the Act, you commit an offence. The maximum penalty for a corporation is $4,000,000 and a further penalty of $480,000 for each day the offence continues and for individuals it is $1,000,000 and a further penalty of $240,000 for each day the offence continues.
Examples
Effluent overflow
Part of your job is to manage an effluent treatment works. The works fail, resulting in an overflow likely to have an adverse effect on the ecosystem of a creek. You have a duty to notify your employer and the appropriate regulatory authority (ARA), the EPA if they are not the ARA, SafeWork NSW, the local authority if this is not the ARA and Fire and Rescue NSW.
Chemical leak
A by-product of your company's manufacturing activity is a liquid chemical waste, which is stored in drums in a shed prior to collection by a waste contractor. There is no sign on the shed stating what to do if a leak occurs. A neighbour complains to the EPA about offensive odours and damage to vegetation near the shed. The EPA investigates, and finds leaking drums.
The employees who knew about the leak believed that the waste contractor would attend to the problem and did not advise company management and the relevant authorities. Your company is prosecuted for failure to notify the incident, in addition to other offences in relation to waste management. It is no defence that the relevant employees were ignorant of the duty to notify. Employers must take all reasonable steps, for example erecting a sign, to ensure that employees will notify them of incidents.
Further information
Contact the EPA's Environment Line at [email protected] or phone 131 555.
Relevant legislative provisions
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
- section 147: Meaning of material harm to the environment
- section 148: Pollution incidents causing or threatening material harm to the environment
- section 149: Manner and form of notification
- section 150: Relevant information to be given
- section 151: Incidents not required to be reported
- section 152: Offence for breaching duty to notify pollution incidents
- section 153: Incriminating information