What does a site contamination consultant do?
Site contamination consultants are specifically defined in the
Environment Protection Act as people who assess the existence
or nature or extent of site contamination. A site contamination
or environmental consultancy is either a company that employs
a range of professional and technical staff, or an individual
operator. Engagement of a consultant is undertaken in accordance
with the terms and conditions of that company or, in some cases,
through agreement to complete a defined scope of works.
There is a clear distinction between the roles of an environmental
auditor and a site contamination consultant or consultant / contractor
carrying out remediation.
When to use a site contamination consultant
A site contamination consultant may be engaged to assess site
contamination for a variety of reasons. Assessment is usually
undertaken where site contamination exists or where there is a
reasonable suspicion of site contamination (resulting in the potential
for risks to human health or the environment) due to a known current
or previous potentially contaminating activity occurring on the
land.
For the development or continuation of an existing 'non-sensitive'
(such as commercial or industrial) land use, assessment by an
experienced site contamination consultant should generally be
acceptable. The consultant's report should state however that
the assessment has been carried out in accordance with Schedules
A and B of the Site Contamination NEPM and include definitive
statements regarding the suitability of the site for the intended
use and that the site does not pose unacceptable risks to human
health and the environment.
The EPA does not consider a report issued by a site contamination
consultant in itself to be acceptable to determine the suitability
of land for a 'sensitive land use'
where site contamination is suspected or known to exist at a site.
In these instances, the EPA expects the use of an independent
Environmental Auditor (Contaminated
Land), appointed by the Victorian
Environment Protection Authority, to independently review
the work undertaken by the environmental consultant and to provide
an expert opinion on the suitability of the site for its intended
use.
Selecting a site contamination consultant
Selecting a site contamination consultant should be undertaken
with care, as the quality and results of the assessment undertaken
is dependent on the competency of the consultant. Selection should
be similar to the process used when acquiring any professional
service.
The EPA recommends consideration of all of the following to assist
in finding an appropriately experienced site contamination consultant:
- contact a company that employs an Environmental Auditor (Contaminated
Land) appointed by the Victorian EPA. To identify these companies,
refer to the list of Environmental Auditors (Contaminated Land)
available on the Victorian
EPA website or
- contact the South Australian branch of the Australian Contaminated
Land Consultants Association (ACLCA) for a list of current members
on (phone) 8243 2505, (mobile) 0409 144 122 or
visit their website
or
- seek advice from a trusted person who has previously engaged
an environmental consultant that successfully demonstrated acceptable
standards of competency and completed similar projects.
If remediation is required
If remediation is required
after assessment, the same process of selecting a contractor/consultant
to undertake remediation should be adopted as described above.
Outcomes of engagement of a site contamination consultant
The outcome of the engagement of a site contamination consultant
is the completion of the scope of work, or an agreed amended scope
of work, and the issue of a report to the client. The report should
be able to sustain technical and public scrutiny.
In some instances, the scope of a consultant's assessment may
be limited by agreement with the client. In this case, the report
should specifically identify the limitations relating to the scope
of work and detail where this may not comply with relevant standards
and guidelines.
Site contamination consultants are also required to specify the
land use(s) taken into account in forming an opinion on the existence
of site contamination in any written reports produced (Section
103ZA of the Environment Protection Act 1993).
This page was last modified 19-02-2008
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