NSW EPA defends contamination guidelines

The state's environmental watchdog has defended guidelines which fail to notify residents they are living near contaminated land.

A NSW government review found home owners could be living near contaminated land without knowing it because the NSW Environmental Protection Authority failed to make the information public.

The review was led by Macquarie University Professor Mark Taylor who found the EPA failed to make the information public even when the "contamination is significant enough to warrant regulation".

The NSW Environmental Protection Authority told the review it decided not to declare all contaminated residential sites because it could "affect the valuation of a property".

However, in a statement released on Saturday, the EPA said human and environmental health were a priority.

"Property value never overrides the EPA's protection of human health and the environment regarding significantly contaminated sites," the EPA said.

It also said it was up to councils to inform land occupiers of nearby contaminated sites.

In the case of significantly contaminated sites, the information is "added to the public record, published in the Government Gazette, notification is provided to the landowner, polluter, land occupier and local council or authority", the EPA said.

After learning about the report, Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton told the Seven Network on Saturday she had ordered an "independent, urgent review" to prevent confusion.

While the EPA is committed to declaring contamination on and near commercial and industrial land, the review found it "generally does not declare off-site residential land to avoid unnecessarily blighting of that land and causing undue concern".

The review says the EPA first determines if the contamination poses health or environmental risks before it decides to disclose the information to residents.

The environmental watchdog has committed to a revised declaration process, which will assure a more "standardised approach", but decisions to declare or not declare the contamination will continue to be made on a "case-by-case basis", the report says.