Contaminated Land Management Act 1997

The EPA may, by order in writing served on a person, direct the person to conduct a preliminary investigation of land specified in the order (the specified land) within the time specified in the order to—

investigate whether the land is contaminated with the substances specified in the order (the specified substances) being the substances that the EPA reasonably suspects contaminate the specified land, and

investigate the nature and extent of any such contamination, and

provide to the EPA such information with respect to the investigation as it may require.

A substance may be specified in a preliminary investigation order by reference to a chemical group of related substances if the EPA reasonably suspects that the specified land is contaminated with one or more of the substances in that group. In such a case each substance in that group is taken to be a specified substance for the purposes of this section.

A preliminary investigation order may be served on any one or more of the following persons—

a person who the EPA reasonably suspects may have been responsible for contamination of the land with the specified substance,

an owner of the specified land,

a notional owner of the specified land,

a person who carried on activities on the specified land, but only if the activities are of the sort that—

generate or consume the same substance as a specified substance, or

generate or consume substances that may be converted by reacting with each other or by the action of natural processes on the land into the same substance as any of the specified substances,

a public authority.

In the application of Divisions 5–7 to a preliminary investigation order, any reference in those Divisions—

to significantly contaminated land is taken to be a reference to the specified land, and

to an appropriate person is taken to be a reference to a person on whom a preliminary investigation order may be served.

A person (other than a public authority that is not a person referred to in subsection (3) (a)–(d)) must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with a preliminary investigation order.

for a corporation—$1,000,000 and, for a continuing offence, a further penalty of $120,000 for each day the offence continues, or

for an individual—$250,000 and, for a continuing offence, a further penalty of $60,000 for each day the offence continues.

Without limiting subsection (5), a person has a reasonable excuse if the person was unable to enter land because of the refusal of access to the land by its occupier in circumstances where entry to that land was essential to enable the person to comply with the relevant part of the preliminary investigation order.