Case Study Report
Environmental Regulations 300630

Introduction
In the present case study I have investigate the contaminated the site at the G&O
Well Pty Ltd.
The G&O Well Pty Ltd is a major oil and gas company in Australia. The present case study is focused on the environmental issues which have been caused by the leakage of the oil in the factory premises. I have also provided the aerial picture of the factory preemies where oil talk is situated. The company is situated near the bank of the Parramatta River.
Part A
Background of the Company
An Australian energy pioneer since 1975, G&O WELL is one of the country’s leading gas producers, supplying Australian and Asian customers.
G&O WELL has been providing Australia with natural gas from the remote outback for more than 40 years. The company today is the largest producer of natural gas to the Australian domestic market, supplying 16% of the nation’s gas needs.
G&O WELL has also developed major oil and liquids businesses in Australia and operates in all mainland
Australian states and the Northern Territory. The main oil depot and factory is located in the Meadow Bank, New
South Wales.
From this base, G&O WELL is pursuing a transformational liquefied natural gas (LNG) strategy with interests in four exciting LNG projects.
G&O WELL has built a strong and reliable production business in Indonesia and is further developing its Asian business through development projects and exploration investment. In 2010, G&O WELL total production was 49.9million barrels of oil equivalent. We have the largest Australian exploration portfolio by area of any company – 146,800 square kilometres.
G&O WELL has about 2,400 employees working across its operations in Australia and Asia. Company has a vision to provide the safest and best workplace for the employees. Vijay Singh
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Company has a won many awards in terms of safety and security in the factory premises. G&O Well is committed to its social responsibility, where company has established a strong reputation in the society by using the latest technology to avoid harms to the land and air pollution.
Currently company doesn’t hold any licenses for any schedule activities.
Issues -
As an environment protection officer I will take major steps to avoid harms to the environment from the leakage of the oil container into the drainage system. In the first instance it looks like the serious harm to the aquatic life. At the present site, emergency personnel is taking precautionary steps to avoid the harm and stoping spillage being an environment protection officer I have to assist both Council and the community to improve environmental performance and/or compliance to prevent further degradation of the environment. In the present complaint I can see that there is lack of information about the site. So taking it as a serious problem I have to actions under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 No 156. But
Being a government employee I am bound to take every necessary action which comes under the law. I have recommended the following process to overcome the situation in the quickest possible ways.
1.) While going into deeper in this case, I will take immediate clean up action by preventing, minimising and removing any pollution resulting from the incident.
At present the severe oil is leaking on is polluting the Parramatta River. I will immediately issue an emergency notice to clean up the site under the section
91 (2). If the company, is not able to comply with a clean up notice within the time framed so in this case of corporation penalty are imposed under section
91 (5a) where company has to pay $1,000,000 , and further penalty of
$120,000 for each day the offence continues. Whereas, if company is not able to perform the clean up with any reasonable reason under section 92 (1) EPA can direct to public authorities to clean up the site. Also the public authority is can claim their administrative cost of preparing and giving clean-up notices under the section of 94 (1). The cost incurred by the authority to enforce a notice or the time and resources spent to monitor compliance with a notice can be recovered via the use of a Compliance Cost notice. The costs incurred by the Council in conducting a clean up to protect the environment can also be recovered using this notice. The notice can be served on either the person who caused a situation that placed the environment at risk (polluter/suspected polluter) or the person who received a notice to clean up or received a
Prevention notice. Should a person not pay within the time frame specified by the Council within the Compliance Cost notice, the Council can commence debt recovery proceedings to recover the costs.
1.) I will also enforce a action of this site which is polluting the drainage system which preventive measures where I will issue a Preventive notice under the section 96 (3A) (c) where EPA can issue a notice to the company to preventive measures and steps to stop the leakage in the water drainage systems to restore and maintain those environment values. Because indirectly
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G&O Well also has to repair the machinery which has causes the incident and also company is liable to install safety and security equipments to protect the environment. Also in this case, if the company failed to comply with a prevention notice so under the section 97 (a) company can be fined by the penalty of $1,000,000.
2.) Under the Section 184 of Environment Operations Act 1997 we can exercise the powers to determining whether there has been compliance with or a contravention of this Act or the regulations or any environment protection license, notice or requirement issued or made under this Act. Because it is really important to know before taking such an action against the offender that they have got any license to dump the waste into the water in any case or in any past years they have been issued any notice regarding the breaching the act. It is very important to find out the history of the company because there may be chances that local councils or the authority have warned them regarding the leakage of chemicals in the drainage system or in the
Parramatta River.
3.) Appropriate Regulatory Authority (ARA) – In this case local council will be a regulatory authority because this in a non-scheduled activity. It is justify under the POEO Act Division 2 of Chapter 8 section 217.
4.) In the next step, Local council will authorise an officer under the Environment
Operations Act 1997 section 187 (1), under which EPA can appoint any person as authorised officer for the purpose of this Act. That particular can act as official and powered person which can use his power to obtain the information about the whole incident by visiting the incident site. Under the section 188 (1) we can give the powers and put some conditions and limitations for the investigation the site. For e.g. the person cannot visit the premises without the proper identification and cannot be accompanied by any other person unless he is authorised too. Also the EPA can provide powers to require and gather information under the section 191 (1) of environment operations Act. (POEO Act 1977)
Authorised officer can also perform search warrant under the section 199 (1a) where an authorised person can perform a search action at incident within the meaning of the Law Enforcement Act 2002.
5.) In regards to the legal compliance of the Act, I will consult this case with the other agencies as an authorised officer of local council, if they can help to proceed with this incident. In the meanwhile, under the section 203 (2) I will write a notice to the organisation to nominate a person within the time specified in the notice, a director or officer of the corporation to be the corporation’s representative for the purpose of answering questions under this section. It will help me to understand the problem in more detail. Also meanwhile I will try to interview people voluntary (s 85) who were present at the time of incident and recording that as evidence may help to find out the suspect’s level of understanding. For example I can ask Sydney water to provide with the detail diagram of drainage system. It can help us to take the decision and stop the effective of leakage by indentifying the drainage

connection to the other areas of the factory premises and the communities in the neighbourhood.
6.) After investigation, a company can be found guilty under the section 120 where a person or corporation who pollutes any waters is guilty of an offence.
And also under section 116 (1) corporation can held guilty if it wilfully or negligently causes any substance to leak or spill to harm the environment are guilty of an offence.

Part B
At the G&O Well premises, I have started my investigation in the morning by visiting the premises. Being an authorised officer of local council I have collected various samples and evidence which I have explained below.
 Current Position
1. I have found after visiting a whole day in the premises that the tank was leaked and has the waste oil in that which was usually collected after cleaning the machines. That particular tank is used by the company to collect the waste oil for recycling.
2. After surveying the whole site I have found that company has put many safety instruments and alarms to raise the attention in case of the leakage and danger. The employees who work around the tank have to wear face mask to avoid any gases available in the particular area.
3. The emergency personnel were on the place to tackle the situation but the tank was full of 30000 litres of waste oil. It was really difficult for the company’s personnel to handle the situation because there were the chances of explosion and the emergency personnel are just making sure they won’t allow any unauthorised person to investigate the leakage.
4. Local authorities and agencies were in place and were rectifying the leakage from where it is mixing up in the Parramatta River water.
5. The aquatic and marine life was in danger because of the leaking oil into the drainage system.
6. There are chances for the contamination in the land and can harm to the factory workers. Because the main ways in which people can be exposed tot petroleum hydrocarbons is through ingestion of groundwater or soil, inhalations of vapours or direct contact.
 Measure taken to control the pollution
7. I have ordered to the company’s authority to block the drainage system temporarily, which can help us to take some measure steps to solve the problem. Because Parramatta River water was polluting by the oil leakage.
8. I have ordered the emergency personnel that no one person company employees will attend the incident except the few authorised official, because that place can be risky for their health.
9. I have called up NSW Sydney water experts to attend the incident to suggest us that what actions we should take for clean up and fixing up the drainage system. I have also requested the drainage system diagram which will help us to take further actions.
10. The companies authority have called up the oil recycling company to dump out the waste oil from the tank but it would take up another 3 days to empty that tank.
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 Direction issued to the Authorities to minimise the risk –
11. I have directed to the company’s authority to not operate any machinery which is linked to the tank, because it can cause the more problem and the oil leakage can be explore which will extend the problem
12. I have consulted and directed the public authorities to take clean up action under the section 91 if POEO Act 1997, as fact in this company has not adequate resources to control the situation. So public authorities have taken the situation under the control which would take them 1 day to take over the situation and to make the environment pollutant free.
 Evidence –
13. I have collected the various form of evidence while doing investigation. I have photographed the incident scene, all the safety equipments and plant and equipment involved in the incident.
14. I have also captured a 2 min videotape to rectify the more details about the scene and how oil is leaking into the drainage system.
15. I have collected samples of the soil to check the level of the pollution in the land soil and the factory environment.
16. I have also voluntarily interviewed some employees under the section of (s
203) to find out the measure were taken to maintain the tank. And I have come to know the tank has been required maintenance from last 4 months.
But management hasn’t taken it seriously. They have fixed the few things temporarily.  Second visit to the incident site
17. In the next following day I have try to visit the incident site again but I was turned down by the company’s authority to visit the site. In this context I have enforce my power under the section 196 of POEO ACT. Which allows me as an authorised officer to enter into the premises from which authorised officer suspect pollution has been or likely to be caused.
18. The premises I have suspect the company personnel by deny my entry into the factory. It shows that company has something to do with the problem and it can be negligent on their part as well.
19. I have inspected the work which was in progress by the public authorities to clean up the site. I have got assurance that they will completely stop the leakage of the oil into the drainage system by the end of the day. And It will take few more days to take the pollutant contamination from the drainage system which were causing the water pollution in to the Parramatta River water. 20. I have also taken the permission under the POEO ACT section 198 (2) to inspect the record of the maintenance of the tank and the drainage system.
By investigating all the documents I have found that company has not taken any necessarily steps to avoid the spill and leakage of the oil into the drainage system prior.

 Actions after the completing investigation and clean up the site
21. I have found out from all the investigation that company authority was negligent about the spillage because they have perception that it is nominal amount of oil which cannot affect the water pollution. But certainly in our search we gathered the information about the maintenance of the tank, and I come to know that company has avoided the service times of the tank. The authorities have provided an excuse that they have performed a maintenance check but the leakage occurred because of the bad weather condition and heavy rain.
 Recommendation
It is recommended that the above information be noted and the Director of compliance approves the penalties and issuance of warning to the G&O Well for the breach of environment policy under the POEO Act 1997. There are following penalties can be imposed. o Penalties
22. Under the section 116 tier 1 of POEO Act 1997, if its proved that company or person has wilfully or negligently causes any substance to leak in a manner that harms or is likely to harm the environment will be guilty. So under section
119 the company has to pay penalty $2,000,000 for an offence that is committed negligently.
23. As in this case the clean up process has been taken by the public authorities under the section 92 (1) so the company is liable to pay the fee under the section 94 (1) where company has to pay the administrative costs of preparing and giving clean up notices. o Warning
24. EPA can also issue a prevention notice to the company under the section 96 to take satisfactory measures to avoid effect of the contamination in the environment. The prevention notice must be specific the action that must be taken to ensure that the environment is protected. The notice may also include that the G&O Well should install and maintain pollution control equipment and to modify their plant to avoid any future accidents. And if the companies is failed to do so there may be more penalties imposed to the company for not complying under the Act.

Reference:
ANZECC and NHMRC 1992, The Australian and Newzealand guidelines for assessment and management of contaminated site, Australian and
New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council & National Health and Medical
Research Council, Canberra. Accessed on 12th October, 2011, www.planning.nsw.gov.au/assesingdev/pdf). New South Wales State of environment, 2009, viewed on 14 October, 2011. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/soe/soe2009/chapter5/chp_5.2.htm#5.2.20 POEO Act 1997, Last accessed 09th October 2011 Available:
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/legislation/aboutpoeo.htm.