The Geelong Magistrates' Court has ordered the Fyansford landfill operator to pay $50,000 for habitat restoration along the Moorabool River, after the company faced charges from EPA Victoria over waste found to be contaminated with hydrocarbons.
The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and the City of Greater Geelong will be partners in delivering the project, which will remove weeds and plant native vegetation on a two-hectare site that runs along 400 metres of riverbank, close to the junction of the Moorabool and Barwon Rivers.
The area is of cultural importance to the Wadawurrung people, and the site is popular with the general community for recreation including fishing, running, cycling and dog walking.
EPA's Environmental Crime Branch charged Geelong Landfill Pty Ltd (trading as Sycle) for accepting more than 140 tonnes of waste that was incorrectly classified as "packaged waste asbestos". The landfill on Hamilton Highway, Fyansford, is licensed to accept asbestos, but EPA investigators found the waste was contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons, a different kind of waste requiring different safety measures.
EPA told the court the company failed to report its licence breach or remove the material to a place that was licensed to accept it within the deadline required by its EPA operating licence. The material has now been removed from the site.
Along with the $50,000 for the conservation project, the company was ordered to pay $10,000 to the court fund and $5,558 to cover the prosecution's court costs.
Corangamite Catchment Management Authority CEO Amber Clarke says the authority is very pleased with the result.
"This funding will create practical benefits for the environment. The Moorabool River Restoration Project in Fyansford will remove weeds and plant native vegetation to help restore the waterway and improve habitat for platypus to its natural form."
"We will be working with the City of Greater Geelong to improve water quality, enhance habitat for native plants and wildlife, and enhance opportunities for community recreation and wellbeing."
EPA Southwest Regional Manager Carolyn Francis says the Environment Protection Act 2017 allows courts to impose penalties by requiring funding for local projects.
"This began with EPA enforcing the strict conditions that come with a licence to operate a landfill," Ms Francis said.
"Today's decision to grant the restorative project is great result. It is an example of one of the many options for holding polluters to account, ranging from advice on how to comply, through official orders and fines, to prosecution in the courts," she said.
The court decision is the latest in a series of cases prosecuted by EPA that ended with offenders paying for local community and environmental projects.
The projects funded so far include a platypus habitat project in the western suburbs and volunteer restoration of native vegetation around a wetland in the state's northeast.
Members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA's 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
