The provincial Environment Department is doing a poor job of monitoring or inspecting industrial sites, dangerous goods and environmentally sensitive areas, Nova Scotia's auditor general said.

In his semi-annual report released Wednesday, Jacques Lapointe said policies and procedures are inadequate, information is incomplete and sometimes enforcement is ineffective.

Lapointe said that given the critical nature of the Environment Department's work, he was surprised by what he found.

"Our audit found cases in which approvals were given that should not have been, cases of no or inadequate inspection, and poor follow-up to see that deficiencies had been corrected," he said.

In fact, the auditor general said that in one of the four regions in the province, 42 per cent of industrial and dangerous goods sites were overdue for inspections.

The report also concluded that inspection processes are not adequate enough to ensure compliance with the Environment Act.

The auditor examined 60 cases where inspectors visited industrial sites to monitor industrial and dangerous goods. It found that in 16 cases risk assessments weren't documented, and in 23 cases the auditors couldn't find evidence of proper follow-up inspections.

Lapointe also said there should be a provincewide system to track complaints. 

The department's response to his report said that although errors may have been made, "there is no indication that they have resulted in a negative impact to public health or the environment."

Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald said the recommendations will be studied carefully, and vowed to make improvements.

"We'll have to take a look at each and every recommendation on its own merit, and if appropriate measures need to be taken, we'll take them," the premier said.

But the auditor general also criticized the government for not following through on about 60 per cent of the suggestions he made two years ago.