A company and its Director and General Manager will pay $23,000 in fine, costs and donations after failing to comply with an EPA order to clean up a pile of industrial waste that included dangerous chemicals.
EPA Victoria charged Crossroads Logistics Pty Ltd, Director Christian McDonald and General Manager Arthur Sofos with contravening a notice to take clean up and ongoing measures, a breach of the Environment Protection Act 1970. They entered a plea of guilty.
The company ran a storage business for freight and other materials at Somerville Rd, Tottenham. In February 2019, it received large quantities of liquid and solid industrial waste which were stored on rented site nearby.
The stockpile included various types of industrial waste in intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), 200-litre chemical storage drums and bulker bags. Approximately 10 of the IBCs were labelled as containing ‘Class 8 – Corrosive’ dangerous goods.
After several inspections, EPA issued a Clean Up Notice on 31 January 2020 requiring Crossroads to remove the stockpile for disposal at a licensed facility by 28 February.
Crossroads Logistics left the premises in late March 2020 but did not contribute to the clean-up, leaving the landowner to deal with the industrial waste.
In the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate J D Williams fined the company $7,000 and ordered it to pay EPA’s court costs of $12,000, with no conviction recorded.
Directors McDonald and Sofos were released on a 12-month Adjourned Undertaking, on the conditions that each pays $2,000 to the Court Fund, be of good behaviour and undertake not to receive industrial waste personally or as an officer of a corporation.
EPA Victoria Acting CEO Mark Rossiter says there is a clear message for potential offenders.
“EPA regulatory notices are legal instruments that must be taken seriously,” Mr Rossiter said.
“They give a clear set of instructions and a deadline that gives enough time to comply,” he said.
“Fail to comply and EPA can back them up with fines or prosecution in court.”
