A Senate inquiry into contamination at a NSW air force base has highlighted much broader concerns about poor regulatory scrutiny of Defence's environmental performance.
Laboratories face fines of up to $500,000 if they don't notify their clients when they find asbestos in samples that companies submit for waste testing, even if they haven't requested analysis for the cancer-causing substance.
Caltex Australia has pleaded guilty in the NSW Land and Environment Court to a Tier 1 offence carrying a $2 million maximum penalty in relation to a fuel spill at its Banksmeadow terminal in Sydney.
The NSW EPA has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to assess contaminated sites and is better placed to recover costs, according to the latest report by the State's Auditor-General.