Building and Development
Contaminated Land
In some situations, the use of land can result in its contamination by chemicals, posing a risk to human health and/or the environment. The NSW Environment Protection Authority has identified a number of activities, including agriculture/horticulture, landfills, service stations, engine works and dry cleaning, that may cause contamination. Many of these activities are currently being, or have been in the past, carried out on some land in Ku-ring-gai.
In NSW, local councils, the Environment Protection Authority (now part of the newly formed Department of Environment and Conservation) and the newly formed Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) share the management of contaminated land. The State government legislative requirements are provided through a package of legislative reform:
Managing Land Contamination Planning Guidelines (available from the Government Bookshop Telephone: 9299 6737)
The EPA is responsible for regulating contaminated sites that present a significant risk of harm to human health and/or the environment. The EPA provides information in relation to regulated sites on its SoEdirect website.
Ku-ring-gai Council has developed a 
Contaminated Land Policy (2.51MB) to help implement our responsibilities under the State legislation. The Policy sets out processes for investigation (testing) and/or remediation (clean-up) of contamination and also for the provision of information in relation to contamination on a property.