Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has fined Mount Alexander Shire Council more than $7,500 for overfilling cells at its Castlemaine Landfill.
EPA North West Manager Danny Childs said overfilling landfill cells was a breach of the council’s EPA licence.
“The landfill cells at the Castlemaine Landfill have been overfilled with approximately 18,000m3 of waste, which has pushed the heights well above what is approved under its EPA licence,” Mr Childs said.
Mr Childs said the overfilling of the landfill cells was an offence under Section 27(2) of the Environment Protection Act 1970.
“This offence led to EPA issuing the council a Penalty Infringement Notice, which requires it to pay a fine of $7,584,” Mr Childs said.
“The council voluntarily ceased accepting waste at the landfill until such time as these investigations and assessments can be completed and approval is given to amend the EPA licence,” Mr Childs said.
Mr Childs said that the likely environmental impacts of the increased volume of waste within a landfill cell could be significant as each cell is engineered based on a certain volume of waste and designed accordingly.
“If additional wastes are deposited it puts a cell’s engineering integrity at risk and could potentially risk contaminating groundwater from leachate escaping from the landfill,” Mr Childs said.
Mr Childs said the council was now working on assessing its options which included the possibility that the current landfill cell could handle the increased waste volume.
EPA encourages the community to report pollution to its 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 (1300 EPA VIC) or by visiting www.epa.vic.gov.au