Environmental management
Choosing a consultant
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the Environmental Management Register (EMR) which records landuse planning information. Land that has been or is being used for activities that are likely to cause land contamination (see notifiable activities) is recorded on the EMR.
Land recorded on the EMR usually requires a site investigation and, where necessary, remediation when a development application is made to subdivide the land or change its use, e.g. from industrial to residential use.
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act), the EPA assesses site investigation and validation reports and approves site management plans to manage contaminated land. A person can, at any time, submit a report about a site investigation to the EPA for assessment.
[Note - While the information above and the advice hereunder applies specifically to chemically contaminated land and to consultants associated with the investigation and remediation of such land, the discussion on consultants' credentials below is also generally applicable to unexploded ordnance (UXO) contractors.
Where UXO-affected land is required to be investigated and, where necessary, remediated as part of the development approval process or where the landowner otherwise requires the site to be reassessed by the EPA, UXO investigation and remedial search contractors accredited by the Department of Defence are to be used. These contractors work to investigation, assessment and remediation procedures that are recognised as best practice throughout Australia. The EPA accepts reports produced by these contractors for assessment purposes.]
When is a consultant needed?
The EP Act requires persons submitting contaminated site investigation reports to the EPA for assessment to be members of a prescribed professional organisation listed in Schedule 8 of the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008. The Schedule of Prescribed Organisations is included on this information sheet. Landowners, occupiers and property developers will need to employ the services of a qualified professional experienced in dealing with land contamination to undertake a site investigation.
Who can perform site investigations under the EP Act?
Membership of a prescribed organisation does not guarantee that the person or consulting firm has the necessary skills and background to conduct contaminated site investigations. Members of these organisations should also have appropriate qualifications and experience relevant to the contaminated site investigation. Contaminated land can result from a range of industrial or commercial activities and, therefore, contaminated site investigation and remediation will generally be site-specific.
Selection process
Finding the right person or environmental consultant to conduct your investigation is a task that should be undertaken carefully. Investigating contaminated land requires technical expertise and the process of choosing a professional and competent consultant for contaminated land work should be similar to the process used when purchasing any professional service.
The following guidelines have been prepared to help you choose a consultant to undertake a site investigation of contaminated land:
- Look up 'environmental consultants' in the telephone directory. The professional organisations listed in Schedule 8 also appear in the directory.
- Prepare a short-list of consultancy firms from the directory, from contacts in your industry or business, or from your professional association which may have previously engaged consultants to do work similar to the work you require.
- Undertake an initial screening by asking the selected consultants to provide information about their qualifications and project experience, with reference to the lists overleaf. Most firms will readily supply information on completed projects and the experience of individual staff members. Clarify what work was performed by the firm and what work was subcontracted.
- Seek from each consultant a list of projects in which the services performed were similar to your project's requirements, and ask for a list of clients whom you may contact to discuss the consultant's technical and management skills.
- Ask for detailed cost estimates with quotations, ensuring that the scope of the work is clearly described. Ask for the names, experience and extent of contribution of persons who will be involved in the project. A tendering process, including a specification relating to appropriate qualifications and experience, may also be appropriate.
- Check the professional credentials of your chosen consultant before engaging their services.
- Clarify the process for any work found necessary in addition to that specified in the original contract.
- Clarify who is to seek any approvals required under the EP Act.
In some contaminated site investigations, it may be appropriate for the investigator to subcontract certain parts of the investigation or remediation work not within their area of expertise. If this is the case, clarify who the subcontractors are, what their role is and who will be supervising them.
Qualifications and competencies
Prerequisites
It is essential that persons conducting contaminated site investigations have the necessary skills and experience to conduct the investigation and remediation work. Consultants are required to have:
- appropriate qualifications and membership of a prescribed professional organisation;
- experience in conducting contaminated land investigations;
- knowledge of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and associated contaminated land policies and regulations (including the requirement for prior approval to remove contaminated soil off the site);
- familiarity with the Environmental Protection Agency's Draft Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Contaminated Land in Queensland;
- understanding of methods of assessing and managing contaminated sites;
- knowledge of the available technologies and processes for treating contaminated soil, preferably on-site, and the providers of treatment services in Queensland and interstate;
- knowledge of relevant scientific literature for assessing the impacts of contamination on human health and the environment; and
- an acceptable level of professional liability insurance.
Skills and expertise
A contaminated site investigation generally requires skills in and knowledge of:
- compilation of historical information;
- contaminated land assessment and management;
- soil sampling design and methodology;
- groundwater sampling design and methodology;
- chain of custody of samples;
- quality control/assurance procedures;
- interpretation of chemical analytical data;
- interpretation of explosive ordnance analytical data;
- environmental chemistry;
- soil science;
- hydrogeology;
- environmental toxicology;
- assessment of contaminant transport and exposure pathways and risk management; and
- remedial technologies and geotechnology.
Prescribed organisations for contaminated land matters
Site investigation and validation reports and draft site management plans that are submitted to the EPA for assessment must be prepared by a person with current membership of one of the professional bodies listed in Schedule 8of the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008. These organisations are:
- Australasian Radiation Protection Society
- Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology
- Australian Institute of Geoscientists
- Australian Society of Soil Science
- Engineers Australia
- Environmental Health Australia
- Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand
- Institute of Explosives Engineers
- Institution of Chemical Engineers Australia
- Institution of Engineering and Mining Surveyors Australia
- Planning Institute of Australia
- South Pacific Environmental Radioactivity Association
- The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
- The Institution of Surveyors Australia
- The Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Last updated: 25 May 2009
