Over the past few months, an alarming number of resource recovery and
waste management facilities have caught fire causing significant damage to
infrastructure, plant and equipment.
There are legal requirements that specify what waste facilities must do
to prevent fires as well as what must be done in the event of a fire.
At times of an emergency, it is important you have procedures in place that
are effective and can be implemented without delay.
Planning requirements
Since the 1980s, the NSW Department of Planning has attempted to manage
the risk of fire during the planning and design phase of certain developments.
To date, the more stringent requirements of undertaking a Fire Safety Study have
been limited to “potentially hazardous developments”.
However, there has been an increasing number of fire incidents which
have occurred at waste facilities that are not categorised as potentially
hazardous, yet do contain large volumes of combustible material. Though not
required by the law, the relevant authorities have been pushing for more
stringent risk assessments to be undertaken to prevent the risk of fire at all
types of industrial facilities. The Fire Safety Study Guidelines (NSW
Department of Planning, 2011) recommend that basic fire safety issues should be
considered early in the planning and design process for a new development.
Insurance impacts
As a result of the recent fires in NSW and Victoria, insurance brokers
Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers have warned that an increase in insurance
premiums for waste management businesses is likely. However, businesses with
strong risk mitigation processes in place may experience lower premiums than
those that do not. This shows an economic benefit for waste facilities that
have procedures including:
·
regular
checks and maintenance of fire safety equipment;
·
preparation
and display of emergency evacuation plans;
·
fire
warden training;
·
maintenance
of equipment such as bunding and electricals; and
·
safe
storage of flammable material.
EPA’s requirements
Under the Protection of the
Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) a licence holder is required to
prepare a Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP) (Section 153A).
Failure to do so may attract a penalty of up to $1 million. This plan
must include:
1. The procedures to be followed in notifying a
‘pollution incident’ to premises in the vicinity and the relevant authority.
2. A detailed description of the action to be
taken to reduce or control the pollution.
Licence holders are required to report pollution incidents causing or
threatening material harm to the environment immediately to relevant
authorities including the EPA, NSW Health, Fire and Rescue NSW, SafeWork NSW,
the local council and premises in the vicinity.
A ‘pollution incident’ is an incident during which there is or is likely
to be a leak, spill or other escape or deposit of a substance, as a result of
which pollution has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur. In the event
of a fire, the procedures in the PIRMP must be followed.
An increase in the prevalence of fires prompts consent authorities to
require applicants for development consents or Environment Protection Licences
to provide further information regarding fire safety measures from the outset.
There are a multitude of reasons to consider fire risks and safety measures
from the start of development process. For established facilities, it is also
never too late to upgrade processes and procedures.
Kim Glassborow is a partner at
G&B Lawyers specialising in waste management legislation, planning and
environmental law. Contact: kglassborow@gandblawyers.com.au
