The Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) will be joining forces with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local Councils in the Parramatta River area throughout May, to begin a compliance crackdown for sediment and erosion control at construction sites around the River and its catchment area.
Targeted developments will range from small home renovations to large scale estate subdivisions, apartment development sites and road works. All with the local government areas of; Blacktown, Parramatta, Cumberland, Ryde, Hunters Hill, Canada Bay, Hills Shire, Strathfield, Inner West and Burwood. Developers and builders working in these areas need to ensure they are keeping soil and erosion controls within the guidelines to avoid facing penalties, with fines issued from amounts of $8,000 to $15,000 for each individual non-compliant incident.
Some common non-compliance issues that occur on sites for sediment and erosion control include; a lack of suitable controls in place, sediment bags being faulty by overuse and leaking, collapsed fencing on site or inadequate storage of sediment stockpiles.
To check that a site complies within sediment and erosion control guidelines to avoid any penalties, developers and builders can refer to the “Guidelines for sediment and erosion control on building sites”, which has been prepared by the PRCG based on Managing Urban Stormwater – Soils and Construction (3rd Edition, 1998), also known as the ‘Blue Book’. A copy can be found within the Barker Ryan Stewart resources area here under the forms and factsheets section.
The recent focus on ensuring sediment and erosion controls are compliant by the PRCG is due to the recent “Get the Site Right” initiative where developers and builders are to take responsibility in what their role is in working towards cleaning up the Parramatta River to make it swimmable again by 2025.
Please contact Barker Ryan Stewart if you have any queries or concerns regarding sediment and erosion control on your projects.
