The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has fined the operator of a Park Ridge industrial warehouse destroyed by fire earlier this year.
The $10,008 penalty was issued to Gacrux Pty Ltd for not complying with a Direction Notice regarding the storage of about 8,000 tyres and almost 19,000 litres of grease and other wastes.
The Direction Notice, issued in May 2020, required Gacrux to stop the unlicenced waste activity at the site and remove all waste.
The storage of waste at the Koplick Road site was being carried without the necessary Environmental Authority (EA).
On 18 March 2021, a fire destroyed the stored waste at the site that had not been removed in accordance with the Direction Notice. DES investigations concluded that a contamination incident had occurred, including the release of hazardous contaminants to land.
DES has also issued a show cause notice to the operator to list the land on the Environmental Management Register (EMR) for hazardous contaminant, and a Clean-up Notice requiring the operator to investigate and clean-up the contamination.
Illegal stockpiling of tyres poses an environment risk and as Queensland’s environmental regulator we take strong action against those who do the wrong thing.
Community reports play a vital role in helping us identify and investigate waste stockpiling.
To report an issue in your local area, phone the Pollution Hotline on 1300 130 372 (option 2).
