Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd has been issued a fine of $30,000 by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for breaching a condition of its Environment Protection Licence relating to the storage of leachate at the Woodlawn Landfill near Goulburn.
In August last year, Veolia self-reported that one of its leachate dams had exceeded the allowed storage capacity.
NSW EPA Executive Director of Operations, Jason Gordon, said this caused a risk of environmental pollution.
"Wind and rain can lead to spillages when the volume of these dams is not restricted and managed, so complying with licensed storage limits is critical to preventing pollution of our waterways," Mr Gordon said.
"We are working closely with Veolia to make sure they find long term solutions to the storage issues in their leachate dams.
"We will continue to monitor the site closely to ensure all necessary measures are implemented to protect the environment and community."
In October last year the EPA issued Veolia with a clean-up notice directing it to take a range of actions to reduce the levels of its leachate storage dams.
Leachate – the contaminated liquid generated during the landfilling process – has elevated levels of ammonia, organic matter, dissolved solids and sometimes metals and other pollutants which can cause harm to the environment.
