Hayley Tam puts into perspective the contaminated land regime amendments
Transactional lawyers advising on contaminated land often launch into an analysis of liability under Pt 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This may have been amplified by recent changes to the regime. However, Pt 2A should be an option of last resort.
In fact, the recent changes to the contaminated land regime are unlikely to have a major impact on transactional lawyers. Apart from an amendment to the definition of contaminated land, there were no substantive changes to Pt 2A. The long-awaited revisions to the statutory guidance mainly impact local authorities, landowners, consultants and developers making decisions about the identification and remediation of contaminated land. Importantly, the revised statutory guidance is not intended to change the effect of the liability provisions.
This is the first time the contaminated land regime has been reviewed since it commenced in 2000. Although Pt 2A was found to be “fit for purpose”, the statutory guidance had created regulatory uncertainty, which was undermining the effectiveness of the regime.
Significant pollution
The amendments to the definition
