Every company knows that they are regulated by certain statutory requirements to protect their workers.

Companies spend vast amounts of money to ensure that they compliant with Work Place Health and Safety. Companies safe guard their employees from harm and ensure that they are paid correctly and fairly. But did you also know that companies have a requirement to protect the environment?

What Is Site Compliance?

Site environmental compliance is the process of instituting and maintaining the hardware and processes necessary to protect your environment.

bunding installation for site compliance

A Gold Coast Study Into Environmental Compliance

On the Gold coast alone we have the following as a snapshot of our unique natural assets and values. As part of site environment compliance these are extremely important to protect.

Recorded Plant Species
Recorded Animal Species
%
Vegetation Coverage
ha
Wetlands
ha
World Heritage
site compliance for marine containment silt curtain

Jay & Jay Industries Your Site Compliance Partners

Jay & Jay Industries are specialists in working with our clients to ensure they have met their duty of care to the environment for local, state, federal governments and emergency service statutes.

This includes:

Specialist Site Compliance Auditors

Jay & Jay Industries are specialist site auditors. We will work with you at your premises to highlight and address issues that may affect your environmental compliance and duty of care. We will then tailor a site-specific set of compliance measures that integrate seamlessly with your production goals.

From advice and supply through to complete turnkey integration and installation, we should be your first choice for site compliance.

Site Compliance Toolbox Training

Jay & Jay Industries also offer introductory Toolbox Training courses for all environmental customers. We work with your nominated staff members to ensure that they are aware of their duty of care as well as the companies duty of care towards the environment. We discuss safe practice for responding to spills when they occur and when best to notify emergency services.

As spill kits are not a one kit covers all type of equipment, we break down our kits to their individual products and instruct your staff on what is needed for their specific work areas.

Jay & Jay Industries also offers refresher courses and new employee instructions to ensure your staff remain current on all aspects.

Talk To Us About Site Compliance

Start your path toward full compliance with your compliance parnter Jay Jay Industries.

Site Compliance Rules & Regulations

Australian regulations for workplace oil spills.

In Australia, workplace oil spills are covered by a business’ due diligence as outlined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Businesses are required to take all reasonable steps to prevent and prepare for oil spills. This includes ensuring that the appropriate equipment and training has been provided.

Should injury or significant damage to property or environment occur as a result of a workplace oil spill, the incident may go to court.

In the courtroom, a judge will examine whether all possible steps were taken to prevent the oil spill from spreading. As well as whether the spill was cleaned up promptly, using sufficient equipment.

If it is deemed, to the standards of a reasonable person, that a business did not fulfil their due diligence in providing the appropriate training, equipment, and response, then that business may be liable for damages. This can include compensation such as personal injury claims.

Where applicable, the construction of bunds must comply with the requirements of:
  • Australian Standard AS 1940B1993: The Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids
  • Australian Standard AS 4452B1997: The Storage and Handling of Toxic Substances
  • the Dangerous Goods Act 1975.
Standards Australia has published standards for a number of classes of dangerous goods, and these also give details of spill control requirements (see Further Reading)

What is a bund?

AS 4452B1997 defines a bund as: an impervious embankment of earth, or a wall of brick, stone, concrete or other suitable material, which may form part or all of the perimeter of a compound that provides a barrier to retain liquid. Since the bund is the main part of a spill containment system, the whole system (or bunded area) is colloquially referred to within industry as the “bund”. The bund is designed to contain spillages and leaks from liquids used, stored or processed above-ground, and to facilitate clean-up operations. A bund consists of:
  • an impervious bund wall or embankment surrounding the facility or tanks
  • an impervious floor within the bunded area
  • any joints in the floor or the wall, or between the floor and the wall
  • any associated facilities designed to remove liquids safely from the bunded area without polluting the environment.
As well as being used to prevent pollution of the receiving environment, bunds are also often used for fire protection, product recovery and process isolation.  Facilities that should comply with the bunding requirements in this guide include:
  • chemical storage facilities
  • pesticide storage facilities
  • petroleum storage facilities
  • electrical transformers containing oil and/or PCBs
  • facilities used to transfer stored liquids (such as transport facilities)
  • drum storage areas, either temporary or permanent
  • processing areas
  • any other facilities that store substances other than water or uncontaminated stormwater. For example, milk (because of its high biological oxygen demand and solubility) can cause more environmental damage than oil (which floats on water and is removed relatively easily), so bunding might be required.
  • any other locations where spills are common, including transfer points, workshops, factories, service stations, buildings or pieces of machinery, wash bays, and other areas in which a material is transferred from its container. In these situations, common forms of bunding are short brick or concrete walls, grading the ground towards a sump, or using “speed humps”. Any method that contains the material and stops it entering the stormwater or environment might be acceptable.
The requirement for bunding has to be determined on a site-by-site basis, taking into account the factors listed in this section.

The Gold Coast City Council state that they are committed to protecting our flora & fauna & the following penalties may apply if silt management is not a priority;

From 1 July 2017, offenses under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 can attract on-the-spot fines from $1892 for an individual to $9461 for a corporation. Serious or repeat offenders may be prosecuted through the courts where the maximum penalty will be $567,675 for an individual or $2,838,375 for a corporation.

If a site is operating under a development approval, a breach of development approval conditions may result in an on-the-spot fine of $2523 for an individual and $12,615 for a corporation under the Planning Act 2016. Higher penalties apply if offenders are prosecuted through the courts where the maximum penalty will be $567,675 for an individual and $2,838,375 for a corporation.

Please Note: you will need to check with your local council for any fees or penalties that apply in your area

Australia has become aware of the enormous side-effects chemical toxins have on the environment. 

Harsh chemicals like nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia are present in many chemical cleaners. Including bathroom cleaners, dishwasher cleaner soap and many other common cleaning products. This is an issue as many chemical cleaners are flushed down drains. As families and business clean their properties, they are unwittingly contaminating the drain water.

Some chemicals are removed by water treatment plants before they enter the natural environment. However, nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia are not among those filtered.

As these chemicals build up in waterways they change the environment in different ways. They can result in an overbalance of some species through excessive plant growth. This reduces the population of other species, leaving an unbalanced ecosystem.

When the hyper nourished plants die off they then deplete the oxygen in the water. This causes further harm to the other plants and animals. Over time the water becomes unsuitable for drinking, cooking and swimming.

Site Compliance Equipment & Services

rubber floor bunding installation

Spill containment

Flexible floor bunding, bunded pallets and bunded storage solutions.

Contents of vehicle spill kit

Spill Response

Spill kits, spill response and spill absorbent products.

marine containment silt curtain

Marine Containment

Marine containment booms, silt curtains and aquatic weed control booms.

drain warden weighted stormwater drain protection

Stormwater Control

Drain warden, protections and drain water diversion systems.

kleen sweep absorbent

Spill Absorbent Products

Spill absorbent products are for the clean-up of everyday oil leaks and fuel spills.