The Loam Ranger – “Clean fill”
Dear Loam Ranger,
I used to be able to strip soil off one site and drop it at another site as “clean fill”, but now I’m told I can’t do that anymore. Why not? Can’t I sell clean fill anymore?
Yes, you still can, but government regulations now define what you can and can’t sell. In addition, the term “clean fill” may not be used anymore, but instead various terms are now used describe different categories of fill.
In NSW, the Protection of the Environment (Operations) Act 1997 (POEO Act) regulates all activities that could have harmful effects on the environment. When you dig material from a site, even one that looks clean, you can’t tell just by looking that the site hasn’t been contaminated at some time in the past, perhaps through illegal dumping, perhaps by a long-vanished industrial process. The only way to tell, as the POEO Act recognises, is through sampling and testing.
Virgin excavated natural material
VENM is classified as “General solid waste (non-putrescible)”. If you excavate natural material that has never been farmed, built on or otherwise modified, you can transport and sell it as VENM without further approval. But you must be able to prove, with paperwork and records or testing, that the material is VENM. (See POEO Act 39(2)(e).) If in doubt, get it tested.
Excavated natural material
Where an excavated material cannot be classified as VENM, it may still be eligible for reuse as “excavated natural material”. The excavated natural material can only be applied to land as engineering fill or used in earthworks (not for growing crops, for example), and it must be sampled and tested and found to meet the physical and chemical requirements specified in the Excavated natural material exemption 2008.
Keep in mind that the mandatory testing costs money, so you must include it in your budget.
The onus is on you
This statutory exemption places an onus on the supplier, the processor, the seller and the buyer to ensure that the excavated natural material qualifies under the exemption. See the above PDF for full details. In brief:
- Certain specified contaminants must not exceed stated limits.
- The material may be used only as engineering fill or in earthworks.
- Samples must be collected as specified.
- Each type of material must be individually characterised.
- Written records must be kept for 3 years.
- The processor must give the buyer a statement of compliance and make the testing results available.
Paperwork
You must keep all documentation covering testing, locations, uses, land owners, drivers, delivery dockets and any other relevant information. You might have to prove that your material is not contaminated.
Exemption testing certificate
A SESL testing certificate summarises a product’s exemption compliance (or otherwise) in 1 or 2 pages. A copy can be handed to the customer at point of sale. Call us on 02 9980 6554 for advice.
DECCW reviews
The NSW Department of the Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) can also review materials that fall outside defined categories for exemption. DECCW will assess applications as outlined in its Guidelines on Resource Recovery Exemptions (Land Application). Note that DECCW does not provide a timetable for this process.
Further reading
NSW DECCW. Regulating waste in NSW.
NSW DECCW. Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
NSW DECCW. Resource recovery exemptions.
NSW DECCW. Virgin excavated natural material.
NSW DECCW. Fact sheet: Virgin excavated natural material.
NSW DECCW. Waste classification guidelines.
SESL. 2008. Changes to the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act.
SESL. 2008. Waste regulation in NSW.