Contaminated Land Auditing | Contaminated Land Auditor

Contaminated land auditing can only be performed by environmental consultants that have been accredited by State agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Accredited auditors are experienced in the assessment and remediation of land contamination and have the authority to ‘sign off’ on contaminated land reports.

The role of an auditor is to review the work of contaminated land consultants to ensure that assessment guidelines have been correctly applied. As the management of contaminated land is complex, the auditing process delivers greater confidence in the quality of scientific data that has been collated, interpretation of the guidelines and the findings presented in a report. Auditing is especially important for land development decisions as planning authorities must consider the potential for land contamination, especially if industrial land is proposed for a more sensitive use.

The most common auditing function is to independently determine and verify the suitability of land for a proposed development. Geo-Logix’s auditing services are based on extensive technical expertise and decades of experience in navigating the commercial and regulatory requirements associated with developing contaminated land.

David Gregory – Accredited Environmental Auditor – NSW, QLD, ACT, NT

David Gregory is an accredited auditor in NSW, Queensland, ACT and the Northern Territory. He has more than 20 years’ experience in assessing and advising on contaminated land projects. He is a technical specialist in groundwater, soil and vapour assessments and has a long career in providing strategic advice to some of Australia’s largest property developers.

When auditing, David’s pragmatic approach balances compliance issues and stakeholder management with commercial objectives. David’s technical expertise and a clear understanding of regulations, guidelines and property development, will pinpoint issues early to help minimise compliance risk and delays. As audits are often a condition of development consent, this experience is invaluable for timely development programs.

When do you need an Environmental Auditor?

Planning authorities and land developers often use the environmental audit system to determine whether a site is contaminated and whether it is suitable for the proposed use. It can also be used to determine what’s required to make a site suitable for a proposed use. Most environmental audits are statutory and relate to a DA condition or have been directed by a regulatory authority in response to a pollution event. Voluntary (non-statutory) audits are generally completed for due diligence purposes, to establish contractual obligations, or ‘value add’ purposes when taking a property to market.

Removing a site from the QLD Land Registers

In Queensland, land that is known to be contaminated is listed on the Contaminated Land Register (CLR). Land that may not be contaminated but is used for activities known for causing contamination is listed on the Environmental Management Register (EMR). Contaminating activities are clearly defined by the legislation as ‘Notifiable Activities’ and include bulk chemical storage, mechanics operations, service stations, dry-cleaning, and metal plating to name a few.

To remove land from the registers, a contaminated land consultant is required to undertake investigations and remediation and to confirm that the land is not contaminated land. They must also prepare a report which is defined under the EP Act as a ‘Contaminated Land Investigation Document’ (CLID). The CLID should address specific criteria required by the EP Act and provides the basis for decisions on site suitability. Like other states, the role of the Auditor is to ensure the CLID complies with the legislation and the basis for removing sites from the contaminated land registers has been based on robust, defensible scientific data that has been collected and evaluated in accordance with scientific principles and state and national guidelines.

Audits for added assurance

Geo-Logix’s auditing services can provide you with assurances to streamline development decisions, particularly for complex projects. Whether planning ahead or meeting a regulatory requirement, costly delays or inconvenient rework can be prevented when engaging an auditor early.

Environmental Audit Services

• Assessments and determinations of land use suitability
• Compliance assessments and permits
• Independent reviews to determine the nature and extent of contamination
• Assessments to determine the appropriateness of an investigation, remedial action plan or management plan for a particular use
• Assistance in removing sites from contaminated land registers