Contaminated land

Contaminated land is managed by Council to minimise the impacts of past land use on the orderly development of land in the future. Land may have become contaminated by actions in the past when issues around contamination, pollution and waste management were not considered important by the community and the long-term effects of some chemicals on the environment and human health were poorly understood.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the State body that regulates contaminated land under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997, however Council has responsibility to ensure that, when exercising its statutory planning functions in relation to the development of contaminated land, all the relevant information is considered.

Council's approach is guided by its Contaminated Land Management Policy: