Planning & site contamination
Site contamination assessment
From 19 March 2021, under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, the planning system includes a standardised legislative framework to assess and manage risks posed by known or potential site contamination to enable the safe development and use of land.
The new legislative framework will result in referrals to the EPA for development applications involving a change of land use to a more sensitive use (or a ‘sensitive use’ in the case of land division) where certain classes of potentially contaminating activities previously occurred. The purpose of the referral is for the EPA to determine, based on risk, who is the most appropriate practitioner to provide a statement of site suitability (either a site contamination consultant or site contamination auditor).
The legislative framework is supported by the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017, Planning and Design Code, and Practice Direction 14: Site Contamination Assessment 2021.
Benefits of the new system
- protecting the health of the community more effectively by ensuring that site contamination is adequately investigated according to the level of risk
- protecting the value of residential properties from the adverse impacts of retrospective identification of site contamination, and
- providing clarity and certainty to developers about when site contamination will be assessed, what DA information is required to be submitted, when an EPA referral is required and limiting the circumstances that a site contamination audit is required to higher risk proposals.
Resources, including FAQs and roadmaps, have been prepared to assist applicants, relevant authorities, site contamination professionals and planning consultants to operate within the new system and can be found on the PlanSA website on site contamination assessment.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the EPA by telephone (08) 8204 9075 or by email.
Site contamination referrals to the EPA
An information sheet summarises the purpose and benefits of the guideline.
