Section 142A of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) provides an offence for a person who pollutes land.
The Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2022 lists wastes automatically deemed to be land pollution under the POEO Act.
These wastes automatically deemed to be land pollution include:
- hazardous waste
- restricted solid waste
- >10 tonnes of asbestos waste
- >5 tonnes of waste tyres or more than 500 waste tyres
Those who pollute the land face significant penalties under the POEO Act. Courts can impose penalties of up to:
- $2 million for corporations
- $500,000 for individuals
If the offence involves asbestos waste, courts can impose penalties of up to:
- $4 million for corporations
- $1 million for individuals
What defences are there?
There are defences available in the POEO Act for land pollution (sections 142B, C, D and E).
The Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014 also provides a defence against a land pollution charge for unlicensed landfills, if those facilities maintain certain minimum standards.
