Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has fined manufacturer Paper Australia Pty Ltd $16,120 over two leaks at its Gippsland plant that sent hundreds of tonnes of liquid waste flowing onto surrounding land.
EPA Gippsland Manager Jessica Bandiera says both incidents involved an ageing pipeline, and EPA has issued a statutory notice requiring measures to prevent future leaks.
“EPA officers inspected the site on Traralgon West Road, Maryvale, and found the spill involved liquid waste from the pulp and paper process. The officers took samples of the liquid, which was brown and gave off a strong odour,” Ms Bandiera said.
“Paper Australia had notified EPA of the leaks, as required under the Environment Protection Act, and began pumping the waste into eductor trucks for disposal,” she said.
“The spill remained within the property boundaries, it was not visible from the nearest road, but the odour was quite strong and may have been noticed by members of the public.”
“There was also the potential for impacts to wildlife and water quality if the liquid waste had reached a nearby waterway,” Ms Bandiera said.
The clean-up operation took several days to complete and the company disposed of the liquid waste in a surge basin on its own property.
“EPA has now issued Pollution Abatement Notices that require the company to formulate a plan to prevent any further spills, arrange for an independent Environmental Site Assessment of the impact of the incidents, and replace the 50-year-old pipeline,” Ms Bandiera said.
“We have also issued the company with fines for breaches of Section 27 of the Environment Protection Act 1970, which prohibits people and companies from permitting or causing an environmental hazard,” she said.
EPA would like to remind all industrial operations to ensure that they have adequate maintenance programs that are subject to regular monitoring programs to ensure that leaks such as this do not occur.
EPA will conduct follow up inspections to confirm the remedial actions have been undertaken.
Under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Infringements Act 2008, the company has the right to have the decision to issue the infringement notices reviewed or alternatively to have the matter heard and determined by a court.
EPA is now preparing for new legislation to take effect in 2020, that will give it a stronger focus on prevention and substantially increase potential penalties.
The legislation introduces a criminally enforceable General Environmental Duty, a responsibility for anyone whose activities may involve pollution to take reasonable steps to eliminate risk to human health and the environment.