EPA has today published its annual report for 2013/14, highlighting its ongoing commitment to working with stakeholders, partners and the community to protect Victoria’s environment.
As outlined in the report, the organisation faced many opportunities and challenges in the last 12 months, including its involvement in the Hazelwood mine fire response – an unprecedented emergency event for Victoria that had a significant impact on the surrounding community.
EPA will implement improvements in response to recommendations in the Hazelwood mine fire inquiry.
EPA also increased its presence in the field over the last 12 months, with officers conducting 2950 inspections at over 2000 Victorian sites and issuing 600 remedial notices.
Other highlights in the Annual Report include:
- Receiving more than 12,000 pollution reports and 21,000 litter reports; 9,000 of those litter reports were received during the successful Summer Litter Campaign, 'A Cleaner Victoria is in Your Hands'.
- Launching the Cleaner Yarra and Bay website in December 2013, providing water quality information and advice so Victorians can easily access up-to-date information on beach closures, algal blooms and other pollution events.
- Joint inspections carried out with Victoria’s fire services to better understand the issue of stockpiling of waste tyres in Victoria, leading to the development of Interim Waste Management Policy (IWMP) to help tighten regulations relating to tyre stockpiles.
- Continuing to tackle Victoria’s most persistent pollution issues in known ‘hotspots’ where communities are impacted by dust and odour including the Brooklyn, Clayton and Dingley areas. Results included odour reports in Brooklyn being the lowest since electronic recording began in 1996.
As part of its five year plan, EPA will continue to focus on dealing with past pollution, tackling current environmental issues and shaping the environmental future in 2014/15.
The EPA will continue to focus their efforts on six challenging environmental problems - contaminated sites, landfills, organics, illegal stockpiling of waste, residential encroachment in industrial areas, and urban stormwater contamination.
The EPA will also implement its remaining reforms and start work on the next strategic plan.
To view the annual report, visit: www.epa.vic.gov.au