Phil Hitchcock has been successful in his application for appointment as a contaminated land auditor in Queensland. Along with his role as Managing Director at AEA, Phil is also accredited in South Australia and Western Australia. He has over 25 years experience and is one of Australia’s most reputable auditors. On behalf of all the AEA team, huge congratulations to you Phil on your appointment and the further recognition of your hard work and dedication!
The Remediation of Land State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) and the draft Contaminated Land Planning Guidelines is currently under consideration as part of a review program by the NSW Government. The proposed new SEPP impacts NSW Auditors, CEnvP’s and industry. More information can be found here, or click here for a news piece on this subject in The Sydney Morning Herald. Public comment has since closed. Watch this space for further updates.
EPA NSW releases new flyer on advice and tips to ensure you are using clean fill on your property. Check it out here.
AEA has recently reached its 5 year milestone. Founders Charlie and Phil want to thank everyone that supported AEA and helped make the business what it is today. Charlie and Phil saw an opportunity to merge their skills and set out on a new venture keeping true to their like-minded values, leadership and integrity. Here’s 5 things that they are proud of: Great, diverse and dedicated team – very low staff turnover and high employee satisfaction Australian and employee-owned company – keeping it local and giving back to those who earned it High quality of work – value and delivery outweighs cutting costs and substandard reports Competitive difference – one of the only businesses in Australia with 5 auditors and offering audit-only services, meaning less conflict of interest Respect in the industry – upskilling our expert support team, developing our in-house specialists, maintaining regular client communication and working with only the best stakeholders
Huge congratulations to Tanya, Caine and big sister Sally on the much-anticipated safe arrival of baby Jack on 25th October. Sally looks as though she has things under control! We hope you’re enjoying life as a family of four and can’t wait to meet the little guy!
We would like to take this opportunity and acknowledgement to say congratulations to Shandel Coleman on her recent graduation with a Master of Occupational Hygiene & Toxicology. Hard work and dedication have really prevailed for you on this great achievement. You should be very proud of your efforts and juggling work and family between it all. Well done, Shandel!
EPA SA has recently released a new regulatory framework on site contamination. It is our duty at AEA to inform those that may be effected by these new guidelines and answer any questions that you may have. Below is a summary on the new SA Site Contamination Guidelines. Purpose of the Framework Outlines the EPA’s decision-making framework for regulating and processing contaminated sites. Sections that may be relevant to you Section 3: EPA Assessment and Remediation Goals Outlines assessment / remediation goals required by the EPA Section 6: Determination of Persons Liable for Site Contamination Framework enabling the EPA to determine if a liable person/s exist or if the site falls into the EPA management of orphaned sites Section 7: Regulatory Priority Outlines the EPA process for prioritising contaminated sites. Regulatory approach, assessment and remediation timeframes are driven by the EPA’s determination of priority. A risk banding is provided in Appendix 3 for a range of the potential contaminating activities undertaken. A high risk site may require a voluntary proposal subject to the potential risk to human health and the environment, as assessed by the EPA. The regulatory approach for lower priority sites is a non-statutory agreement. Section 8: Regulatory Response Outlines the potential actions and timeframes for different regulatory priorities. For example, a service station with petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater could be classified as Level 1 Regulatory Priority with an assessment timeframe of 6 months or less and a remediation timeframe of 8 months or less, as per Table 4 Section 8. Section 9: Triggers for a Site Contamination Audit Refers to the triggers for audits within the Guidelines for the Site Contamination Audit System. These triggers include where contamination migrates offsite and presents a potential risk to the environment or sensitive land uses (i.e. hydrocarbon plume migrating beneath houses) and when developing a potentially contaminated site into sensitive land. Section 16: Cessation of Regulatory Involvement The regulatory end point is reached when it is demonstrated that the contamination does not pose a current risk to human health and the environment, unless new information is received to the contrary. This end point can be reached through the assessment and remediation process for a non-sensitive land use site or through the audit process. Key Points to Consider EPA expects assessment reports to characterise the site, determine contaminants of potential concern, determine the nature and extent of site contamination, and identify and assess potential risks to human health and the environment. Based on an initial limited review, if the EPA determines that a report has significant flaws (i.e. the above information is not addressed), the EPA will undertake a detailed review. EPA use a risk based approach, taking into account PCA risk ranking and exposure pathways and receptors to determine priority sites.
A huge congratulations to Gurdeep and Abbey on the delivery of a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Baby Luca will be in loving hands and is welcomed with opened arms. We can’t wait to meet him. Well done guys and enjoy this new life-changing journey!