THE PRACTITIONER'S COMPANION
Tuesday 11 February 2025

Australian Conveyancer part of evidence to government PFAS inquiry

Submission by Lotsearch founders Howard Waldron and Pete Rodgers was described as “fascinating” by committee deputy chair The Hon Taylor Martin.

2 min read

AUSTRALIAN Conveyancer has been submitted as evidence to a NSW government committee investigating PFAS.

The What on Earth Is Under Us? edition from September was included in the bundle of findings before parliamentarians in Sydney.

It was part of the submission by award-winning spatial mapping experts Lotsearch to the Legislative Council Select Committee on PFAS Contamination in Waterways and Drinking Water Supplies Throughout New South Wales.

The evidence given by founders Howard Waldron and Pete Rodgers was described as “fascinating” by committee deputy chair The Hon Taylor Martin.

He said that it had left a lot for the committee to think about especially in regard to how far behind the state was in terms of disclosure around contaminates.

In his opening statement, Howard Waldron told the committee that Lotsearch had identified significant knowledge gaps.

“We have spent the past 10 years developing an extensive database of contamination sources,” he told the committee.

“We have identified the location of over 260,000 known and potentially contaminated sites across the country, with 75,000 of these sites located in NSW.

“By way of a comparison, there are approximately 2,000 sites that have been notified to the NSW EPA as being contaminated.

“The knowledge gap between what is known and what is potentially contaminated is significant.

“Given the complexity and widespread nature of PFAS contamination, it is crucial to identify and mitigate the sources of these pollutants effectively.”

Lotsearch has carried out work on behalf of the NSW Environment Protection Agency and 16 regional councils as it has built up a portfolio of information from 1,000-plus datasets.

He said that a key area for reform relates to existing government searches.

“The section 10.7 planning certificate is a mandatory document produced by councils to disclose property and planning information during a property transactions,” said Mr Waldron.

“These are not adequately informing the public about contaminated land issues.

“This has been outlined by the NSW EPA audit included in the information pack provided to the committee.

“In summary, this audit found many of the councils investigated did not provide contaminated land information or have a contaminated land policy in place.

“Certificates showed inconsistencies or had missing or incorrect results relating to known contaminated issues,” he added.

An example tabled to the committee identified a residential property within a PFAS management area. Yet it was not included in the corresponding council planning certificate.

Our deep dive into the decade-long investigation by Lotsearch that shone a light on more than 260,000 toxic hotspots was one of the most read articles of 2024 . Read more from What On Earth Is Under Us? here.

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