Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has approved an application to allow asbestos from EBAC (the former Morwell Power Station) to go to landfill at the neighbouring ENGIE site (Hazelwood Power Station).
EPA acting Executive Director Tim Faragher said ENGIE submitted a licence amendment application to allow the existing asbestos landfill on its Hazelwood premises to accept the asbestos after Latrobe City Council refused planning permission for a proposed asbestos landfill at the EBAC site.
EPA approved ENGIE’s application under the Environment Protection Act 1970, noting that:
- the Hazelwood landfill cell available to receive the EBAC asbestos has been operating since June 2018, and already has the necessary controls and safety features for accepting asbestos
- the existing landfill cell has enough approved capacity to accept the asbestos coming from the EBAC site, as well as ENGIE’s own asbestos
In making its decision, EPA consulted with the Gippsland Waste and Resource Recovery Group to ensure that the proposal is consistent with existing regional plans.
EBAC continues to comply with an EPA-issued Clean Up Notice for the old Morwell Power Station and the requirement for a full environmental assessment of the site, as prescribed under Section 53X of the Environment Protection Act.
There are stringent conditions for the transport, packaging and disposal of asbestos. See EPA’s Industrial Waste Resource Guideline IWRG611.2 here:
https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/~/media/Publications/IWRG611%202.pdf
Members of the public can report pollution on EPA’s 24-hour hotline, by calling 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).