Zoppo said recent amendments to the Protection of the Environment Operations Act (POEO) have exposed companies to fines of up to $5 million, with individuals liable for fines of up to $1 million or up to seven years jail time.

“From a lawyer’s perspective, a fivefold increase in penalties is huge – I’ve never seen such a big jump in penalties, especially when you look at the success of the POEO Act, which has been labelled by commentators as an outstanding success,” Zoppo said.

“The amendments have taken away a defence that was available for directors and managers. There used to be a no-knowledge defence where you could avoid liability where you did not know the circumstances that led to the offence and couldn’t be expected to know – that has been taken away.”

Zoppo said of the environmental offences that have been reported, impacts and pollution to waterways is one of the most common and heavily regulated offences across a range of industries, including mining.

Breaches of licence conditions for failure to monitor impacts such as dust and noise are also common offences in the mining industry.

Zoppo said simple failures often lead to environmental incidents and to prosecution.

“Failures can be as simple as not assessing each of the risks of an activity or not implementing all aspects of a due diligence system.”

He said when an environmental incident occurs, mining companies must act in an organised, coordinated manner and conduct a thorough internal investigation.

Speaking at the New South Wales Minerals Council Environment and Community Conference this month, Zoppo said it was important for mine managers and workers to attend industry meetings in order to hear about and learn from the mistakes of others.

“Generally speaking, mining companies are responsible and concerned with the impacts of their mines. They’re not about just complying with the legislation but are going beyond compliance and trying to go about things in the best way possible,” he said.