Contaminated Land Management Act 1997

This section applies where one or more persons furnish the EPA with a proposal for the management of significantly contaminated land (a voluntary management proposal).

The EPA may approve a voluntary management proposal in respect of one or more of the parties to the proposal (an approved party).

The EPA may approve a voluntary management proposal unconditionally or subject to conditions by notice in writing served on each approved party.

The EPA must not approve a voluntary management proposal unless it is satisfied that—

the terms of the voluntary management proposal, as modified by any conditions to be imposed by the EPA, are appropriate (including any plan of management, provision for giving notice and terms setting out a timetable or requiring progress reports), and

the parties to the proposal have taken all reasonable steps to identify and find every owner and notional owner of the land and every person responsible for significant contamination of the land, and

the parties to the proposal have given those persons identified and found a reasonable opportunity to participate in the formulation and carrying out of the proposal on reasonable terms.

Despite subsection (4), the EPA may approve a voluntary management proposal even if it is not satisfied as to the matters set out in subsection (4) (b) and (c), but only if the EPA makes it a condition of its approval that the parties to the proposal cannot recover contributions under Division 6.

The EPA may serve a management order in relation to significantly contaminated land that is the subject of an approved voluntary management proposal but only on—

an appropriate person or public authority who is not an approved party to the proposal, or

an appropriate person or public authority who is an approved party to the proposal, if in the opinion of the EPA—

the terms of the approved proposal are not carried out, or

the management order relates to a matter that is not adequately addressed by the proposal, or

its approval to the proposal was given on the basis of false or misleading information.

A proposal ceases to be an approved voluntary management proposal—

if the EPA by notice in writing served on each approved party—

specifies that it is satisfied that the terms of the voluntary management proposal have all been carried out, or

withdraws at any time its approval of the voluntary management proposal, and

at the time specified in the notice, or if no time is specified, at the time the notice is served on each approved party.

If a proposal (other than a proposal referred to in subsection (5)) ceases to be an approved voluntary management proposal, the approved parties may recover contributions for carrying out requirements under the approved voluntary management proposal in accordance with Division 6 as if the requirements had been carried out under a management order.