Pecuniary Penalties Claims Examples

Construction Industry - Dead Ducks

Breaches Involved

Section 120(1) Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW)

 

Case Details

A development company was engaged by the owner of the property to carry out a demolition of buildings and removal of debris. The property was known to contain a number of underground storage tanks including one located beneath a workshop building which had, until shortly prior to the company taking control of the site, been used in connection with a vehicle repair business.

The development company retained a demolition contractor and an environmental contractor. The environmental contractor prepared a remediation action plan for removal of the underground storage tanks.

Approximately three months after the development company had taken possession of the site, it received extremely heavy rainfall. As a result of a faulty box gutter, a large amount of rainfall was directed into the workshop building. The rainwater entered the underground storage tank which still contained a volume of oil. The tank overflowed causing the mixture of oil and water to flow to a nearby wetlands area. A number of ducks were killed and other wildlife injured.

The court noted that the construction company ought to have inspected the tank within a short time of taking possession of the site and ensured that the tank was emptied or at least properly capped. In deciding the penalty, the court accepted that the risk of the tank being inundated by water in the manner which occurred was at a low level of foreseeability.

 

Resulting Penalties

»  The construction company was fined $40,000.

 

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