You must take action to respond to a pollution incident you cause by restoring the area affected, as far as reasonably practicable.
A pollution incident is a leak, spill or escape of a substance which is not intended or authorised. The duty applies when the pollution incident causes or is likely to cause harm.
A substance includes smoke, dust, fumes and odours.
The duty does not apply to an incident that only involves noise emissions.
Duty to take action to respond to harm caused by pollution incident, section 31, Environment Protection Act 2017(opens in a new window).
Who it applies to
Any business or person who is responsible for a pollution incident that causes or could cause harm to human health or the environment.
The duty applies to you if:
- you conduct activities at one workplace or worksite
- you conduct activities at different locations, such as waste removal
- the pollution incident impacts others' property or land.
What you must do
You must act to restore the area affected, so far as reasonably practicable.
You also have a duty to notify us if your pollution incident causes material harm or threatens to cause material harm.
Example
A water corporation in Victoria is alerted to a sewer spill coming from a manhole in a suburban street. The spill is moving towards a stormwater drain.
The water corporation immediately attend the site and inspect the manhole. They find that a blockage is causing the spill.
They quickly stop the spill and clear the blockage. The spill is then cleared from the stormwater drain.
Inspections and water monitoring confirm that the spill has not entered any nearby waterways. However, the water corporation notifies the local council for completeness.
The areas affected by the spill are restored to their previous state. This eliminates any harms.
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