An issue that arises in disasters is the removal of waste and, particularly with floods, the escape of waste or hazardous materials into the flood waters.  Following the floods in Queensland and NSW, various exemptions had to be granted to allow for the disposal of waste and to avoid prosecutions for breaches of environmental protection legislation.

The situation is explained by Leanne O’Brien, Max Newman and Ivan Brcic from law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth in a newsletter ‘Catastrophic flooding and murky legal waters’ which you can read on Corr’s website – https://www.corrs.com.au/insights/catastrophic-flooding-and-murky-legal-waters

This blog is made possible with generous financial support from the Australasian College of Paramedicine, the Australian Paramedics Association (NSW), Natural Hazards Research Australia, NSW Rural Fire Service Associationand  NSW SES Volunteers Association. I am responsible for the content in this post including any errors or omissions. Any opinions expressed are mine, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or understanding of the donors.