When assessing a development application, Council is required by State planning laws to consider if the land is suitable, or if it can and will be made suitable, for the proposed development. In order to make this assessment, the planning laws outline the following stages for contamination assessment:
- Preliminary Site Investigation
- Detailed Site Investigation
- Remedial Action Plan
- Validation Report
If contaminants have been managed on-site, a Long Term Environmental Management Plan will also be required. Each of these stages will need to be completed by a suitably qualified contaminated land consultant. The NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides guidance for engaging a contaminated land consultant, including details of consultant certification schemes.
The PSI, DSI and RAP (if required), will typically need to be submitted in support of a development application. If the development is approved and remediation is required, a condition of consent will be included requiring the remediation works to be carried out during construction. An additional condition of consent will require the Validation Report and Long Term Environmental Management Plan to be completed prior to the issue of the occupation certificate.
For more information, please refer to Developing on contaminated land(PDF, 226KB) fact sheet.