CONTAMINATED SITES ACT 2003 - SECT 11

CONTAMINATED SITES ACT 2003 - SECT 11

11 .         Reporting of known, or suspected, contaminated sites

        (1)         A person may report to the CEO any site that the person knows, or suspects, is contaminated.

        (2)         A report is to —

            (a)         be in the prescribed form;

            (b)         contain a description of the location and extent of the site sufficient to identify it; and

            (c)         summarise the information on which the person bases their knowledge or suspicion that the site is contaminated.

        (3)         Except as provided in subsection (5), a person referred to in subsection (4) must report to the CEO any site that the person —

            (a)         knows is contaminated, within 21 days after the day on which the person first knew that the site was contaminated, or such later period as the CEO approves in writing before the expiry of that 21 days; or

            (b)         suspects is contaminated, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so.

        Penalty: $250 000, and a daily penalty of $50 000.

        (4)         The following persons have a duty to report a site under subsection (3) —

            (a)         an owner or occupier of the site;

            (b)         a person who knows, or suspects, that he or she has caused, or contributed to, the contamination;

            (c)         an auditor engaged to provide a report that is required for the purposes of this Act in respect of the site.

        (5)         It is a defence to a charge of an offence under subsection (3) for the person to prove that the person knew or believed on reasonable grounds that —

            (a)         the site had already been reported to the CEO;

            (b)         the contamination, or suspected contamination, was caused by a discharge of waste of which the CEO had already been notified under section 72 of the EP Act; or

            (c)         the site was, or was to be, reported under a programme approved by the CEO under section 12, or in a programme submitted for that approval and approval has not been refused.

        (6)         A person does not contravene subsection (3), even though he or she does not comply with that provision, during the period of 6 months after the commencement of this Act.

        (7)         The CEO is to ensure that each owner and occupier of a site in relation to which the CEO has received a report is informed in writing within 14 days after the day on which the report was received that a report has been made under this section or that reasonable attempts have been made to do so.

        (8)         Subsection (7) does not apply in respect of an owner or occupier who made the report.

        (9)         A person must not report a site —

            (a)         maliciously; and

            (b)         without reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that the site was contaminated.

        Penalty: $250 000.