NOTE: On 21 December 2023, the Environment Protection Authority issued Notice No. 20234449 – Amendment of Management Order.
NOTE: On 14 December 2023, the Environment Protection Authority issued Notice No. 20234430 – Amendment of Management Order.
NOTE: On 14 December 2023, the Environment Protection Authority issued Notice No. 20234425 – Notice to Amend Significantly Contaminated Land Management Order.
Management Order
Section 14 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997
To: Camellia Grande Pty Ltd [ACN: 629262344]
Suite 2 Level 1
31 Cowper Street
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
Attention: The Proper Officer
Management Order No. 20221402; Declaration No. 21116; Area No. 3020
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued this Management Order to you to carry out management actions in relation to significantly contaminated land. Further information is set out below.
Please read this Order carefully and carry out the actions required by the Order by the dates shown. If you have any queries about this matter, please contact Maria Bowen on maria.bowen@epa.nsw.gov.au or (02) 9995 5618.
A. On 14 December 2005, the EPA declared the land described as Lot 2 DP 539890 and Lot 2 DP 615549, known as 37A and 39 Grand Avenue, Camellia, in the local government area of Parramatta to be significantly contaminated land (Land) by Declaration No. 21116 dated 5 June 2009 made under s 11 of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (Act). See Map Attached.
B. Investigations were undertaken by ENSR Australia Pty Ltd (ENSR). Findings from this investigation were presented in ENSR 2009.
C. The EPA declared the site as a remediation area on 8 May 2009 due to the presence of significant contamination in soil (Declaration 21116). The Land was so declared because the EPA had reason to believe that it was contaminated with substances (Significant Contaminants) in such a way that was significant enough to warrant regulation under the Act.
D. A Stage 1 Works Voluntary Management Proposal (VMP) was entered into with the NSW EPA (Notice #20091707) requiring further investigation of the site.
E. Asciano entered into a VMP with the NSW EPA setting out the timeframe for the determination of a final preferred remediation option for the site, delivery and implementation of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) for the site. An accredited (Part B) Site Audit Statement and Site Audit Report was required to assess the RAP. A (Part B) Site Audit Statement was also required at the completion of the remediation to confirm that the remedial goals had been achieved.
F. A RAP (Consara dated 18 June 2014) was prepared as required in the VMP.
G. A Site Audit Statement on the RAP was issued by Accredited Auditor Mr Andrew Lau on 22 July 2014 certifying that the RAP was appropriate.
H. The RAP was not completed. The EPA understands some capping was installed on part of the site. No documentation, in relation to the capped surface or validation, which is needed to assess if the remedial goals have been met and if the contingency actions are required, was provided. The accredited (Part B) Site Audit Statement and Site Audit Report required at the completion of the remediation was not undertaken.
I. This Order applies to all of the Land the subject of Declaration 21116 and described as Lot 2 DP 539890 and Lot 2 DP 615549, known as 37A and 39 Grand Avenue, Camellia.
J. A map of the Land is attached to this Order.
K. Investigation reports (Consara 2014) reported concentrations of hexavalent chromium in isolated pockets of fill in the south-western, northern and north-western portions of the site at concentrations of up to 1000 mg/kg at a depth of 1m and 2.5 m bgsl [these concentrations were reported to indicate the presence of chromium ore processing residue (COPR)];
L. A perched aquifer is reported in fill at the site and due to vertical infiltration of the surface water, this aquifer is contaminated with hexavalent chromium. In addition, the perched groundwater has been demonstrated to provide a source of hexavalent chromium to the deeper groundwater present in natural sediments and sands that underlie the fill materials (Consara 2014);
M. Groundwater in the perched and deep groundwater aquifers on the site discharges to the Parramatta River (Consara 2014);
N. Concentrations of hexavalent chromium in the stormwater pits/ outlets across the site was up to 106 ug/L with the source of hexavalent chromium in stormwater most likely related to perched groundwater entering the stormwater system during heavy rainfall or via migration of perched groundwater from fill materials (E3, 2010);
O. Treatment Trials to reduce the leachable hexavalent chromium were undertaken and concluded the insitu or ex situ treatment of hexavalent chromium is not commercially or technically feasible (Consara 2014);
P. Options considered to be potentially suitable in Consara 2014 included an impermeable barrier wall installed at the downgradient boundary which included a collection drain (i.e., a pump and treat system) or a permeable reactive barrier at the downgradient barrier. Both options could be used in combination as measures to reduce the potential generation of hexavalent chromium contaminated groundwater at the site.
Q. Prior to the making of this Order, the EPA considered all submissions made as to whether an Order should be issued.
R. The Land has been declared as significantly contaminated land. The EPA has reason to believe that the Land is contaminated with the following Significant Contaminants:
(i) Hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] (“the contaminant”).
S. The EPA has reason to believe that the following harm has been caused by the contamination of the Land:
(i) Investigations reported in April 2007 have indicated high concentrations of Cr (VI) in groundwater and stormwater at the site and potentially contaminated surface water flows from the northern border of the site into the Parramatta River;
(ii) Water with a bright yellow discoloration [indicative of Cr(VI) contamination] was observed in stormwater seeping from a drain into the Parramatta River;
(iii) A study undertaken by the NSW EPA in 2002 to 2003 found Cr(VI) to be impacting on the marine ecosystem of the Parramatta River in this vicinity; and, Cr to be present in oysters over a wide area in Camellia at concentrations significantly higher than those in Lane Cove; and, there is the possibility of unintended human exposure to the Cr(VI) contaminated seeps along the foreshore if access to the foreshore is not appropriately managed.
T. This Order specifies Camellia Grande Pty Ltd as the appropriate person the subject of the Management Order.
U. The chromium contamination at the site appears related to infilling of the site with aerial photographs demonstrating progressive infilling of the site between 1951 and 1970. Chrome Chemicals (Australia) Pty Ltd operated a chrome manufacturing facility on the Camellia Peninsula between the 1940s and 1970s. A report (Dames and Moore 29 August 1994) reports ‘chrome feedstocks from the former Chrome Chemicals manufacturing plant … were routinely used by property owners along Grand Avenue as fill material’. Chrome Chemicals (Australia Pty Ltd) was deregistered in 1999. It was not possible to ascertain who was responsible for the fill and under what circumstances it was placed on the site. The EPA determined on the balance of probability that there is no person principally responsible for the contamination available to pursue.
V. Under section 13(2)[(b) of the Act, Camellia Grande Pty Ltd is the appropriate person because they are the owner of the land (whether or not the person is responsible for contamination of the land), and it is not practicable for a person responsible for the significant contamination of the Land to be specified.
The EPA directs Camellia Grande Pty Ltd as the appropriate person to carry out the following actions:
1. Prepare a RAP (called a ‘Plan of Management’ in the Act) for the Specified Land. The RAP should include assessment of a Permeable Passive Reactive Barrier and Containment Barrier Wall with a pump and treatment system as a remedial method. Submit the RAP to the NSW EPA by 17:00 pm 1 March 2023.
2. Engage an Auditor Accredited under the Act to review the RAP to certify if the RAP is appropriate and provide a Site Audit Statement to the NSW EPA by 17:00 on 1 September 2023.
3. Make available for inspection by any person, free of charge, and provide a copy to any person for a reasonable fee:
a) each report; and
b) each plan of management
required to be prepared and submitted to the EPA under this Management Order.
It is not necessary to disclose:
(i) any information contained in those documents that relates to any manufacturing or other industrial or commercial secrets or working processes; or
(ii) any personal information, within the meaning of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW), Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), contained in those documents.
4. Inform the EPA of any change in the ownership or occupancy of the land in writing within seven days of any change to the landownership.
5. Send all reports and correspondence required under this Order to:
Email RegOps.MetroRegulation@epa.nsw.gov.au
or
Post Director Regulatory Operations
NSW Environment Protection Authority
Locked Bag 5022
PARRAMATTA NSW 2124
[signed – 7 December 2022
JACINTA HANEMANN
A/Director Regulatory Operations
NSW Environment Protection Authority
(by delegation)
Date of this Order: 7 December 2022
[By Registered Post]
Failure to comply
It is an offence under section 14(6) of the Act to fail to comply with this Order without reasonable excuse. In the event the person is unable to enter land because of the refusal of access to the land by its occupier, then a person may have a reasonable excuse as provided by section 14(7) of the Act, where entry to that land was essential to enable the person to comply with the relevant part of the Management Order.
Continuing offences
Under s 108A of the Act, an Order made under the Act that specifies a time by which, or period within which, a direction or other requirement in the Order must be complied with continues to have effect until the direction or requirement is complied with. Where a time is not specified, the direction or requirement continues to have effect until it is complied with.
Cost recovery
Section 34 of the Act allows the EPA to recover its costs in connection with preparing and serving, monitoring actions under, and seeking compliance with a Management Order.
Information recorded by the EPA
Section 58 of the Act requires the EPA to maintain a public record. A copy of this Management Order will be included in the public record and is available for access at the principal office of the EPA and on the EPA’s website.
Information recorded by Councils
Section 59(1)(b) of the Act requires the EPA inform the relevant local Council as soon as practicable after the issue of this Order. Pursuant to s 59(2)(b) of the Act, land being subject to a management order is a prescribed matter to be specified in a planning certificate issued pursuant to s 10.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979(EP&A Act). The EPA is required to inform the relevant Council as soon as practicable when the Order has been revoked (s 59(1)(b) of the Act). Pursuant to s 59(3) of the Act, if a Council includes advice in a planning certificate regarding a management order that no longer applies to the land the subject of that order, it is to make it clear on the planning certificate that the order no longer applies.
Relationship to other regulatory instruments
This Order does not affect the provisions of any relevant environmental planning instruments which may control the Land on which the Land is located, or provisions of any other environmental protection legislation administered by the EPA.
Refusal of entry onto Land
In accordance with s 32 of the Act, this Management Order does not confer any power to enter land, remain on land or do anything on land, without the permission of the occupier of the land. However, if the occupier withholds or withdraws that permission, the EPA may revoke or suspend the Order and instead issue an order to the occupier.
Preparation and approval of reports submitted to EPA to comply with this Order
Any report submitted to the EPA to comply with this Order must be prepared, or reviewed and approved, by a consultant certified by an EPA recognised scheme. A personalised electronic seal providing evidence of certification must be affixed alongside the certified person’s details in the quality information section of a report. If a report submitted has not been prepared or reviewed and approved by a certified consultant, the EPA will not accept the report
Further information, and a list of contaminated land consultant certification schemes recognised by the EPA is available on the EPA’s website at http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/contaminated-land/managing-contaminated-land/engaging-consultant.
Guidelines made or approved under s 105 of the Act
All the investigation or remediation works must be carried out in accordance with guidelines made or approved under s 105 of the Act. See https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/contaminated-land/statutory-guidelines.
Appeal rights
Under s 61 of the Act a person who is the subject of a Management Order has the right to appeal against the Management Order to the Land and Environment Court within 21 days of after the date of service.
Amendment or repeal
This Order may be varied by subsequent notices. It remains in force until it is otherwise amended or repealed or when the Land ceases to be significantly contaminated land.
