New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CONTAMINATED LAND MANAGEMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 13

13 Choice of appropriate person to be made subject to management order

(1) If the EPA makes a management order in respect of significantly contaminated land, the order must specify one or more appropriate persons (or public authorities that are not appropriate persons) as the subject of the management order.

(2) The EPA is to choose the appropriate persons from among the following persons:

(a) a person who is responsible for significant contamination of the land (whether or not there may be other persons who are also responsible),

(b) an owner of the land (whether or not the person is responsible for contamination of the land),

(c) a notional owner of the land (whether or not the person is responsible for contamination of the land).

(3) In determining the appropriate persons, the EPA is, as far as practicable, to specify a person referred to in subsection (2) (a) over a person referred to in subsection (2) (b) or (c) and to specify a person referred to in subsection (2) (b) over a person referred to in subsection (2) (c).

(4) For the purposes of this section, it is not practicable to specify a person if:

(a) there is no such person, or

(b) the EPA cannot, after reasonable inquiry, find out the identity or location of the person, or

(c) the person, in the opinion of the EPA, is unable to pay the person’s debts or would, if the person took steps to comply with the management order, become unable to pay the person’s debts.

(5) Despite subsection (2), in the case where a significant contaminant of the land originates from the use of a cattle dip site on the land in relation to a treatment ordered under the Stock Diseases Act 1923 , the appropriate person is:

(a) except in the case referred to in paragraph (b)-the Director-General of the Department of Primary Industries, or

(b) if a person is responsible for significant contamination of the land (whether or not there are other persons who are responsible for such contamination of the land) because of the operation of section 6 (2) (b)-that person.

(6) Any public authority may be specified as the subject of a management order whether or not as an appropriate person.

Note: A person (including a public authority) who takes action concerning land may have rights of recovery against any relevant contaminator of the land-see Division 6.