Site Contamination: Guideline for Communication and Engagement

Like all industrialised cities, Adelaide and South Australian regional centres are confronted with managing or remediating historical site contamination. The scope of the community engagement plan should be directly proportionate to the size and nature of the extent of the contamination. The South Australian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) expects that the person who has liability for site contamination will undertake or fund a communication and engagement program. This guideline has been prepared to describe the EPA’s expectations for those who undertake communication and engagement in relation to site contamination.

This guideline is intended to help landowners and parties responsible for the assessment and remediation of site contamination, to better understand their responsibilities to the community for appropriate consultation and engagement. It outlines the expectations of the EPA and establishes a protocol for managing communication and engagement for site contamination in South Australia. It is intended that managing each stage of the process will ensure a consistent approach across the State.

Where no appropriate person as defined in the Environment Protection Act 1993 (EP Act) exists to assign legal liability to for assessment or remediation, or the person responsible lacks capacity to meet the costs of assessment or remediation, the EPA may undertake the communication and engagement at sites that are contaminated to an extent that presents a significant public health risk. These are referred to as ‘orphan sites’, which is a term used nationally and internationally.