Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA)
The NorthernTerritory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) has completed a year-longinvestigation into the illegal disposal and burial of thousands of cubic metresof construction and demolition waste material onto the foreshore and intoDarwin Harbour.
Theinvestigation has resulted in DWD Project Pty Ltd (DWD) and its sole company director Michael AdrianAnthony (Mr Anthony) being charged with intentionally polluting the environmentcausing serious environmental harm, in contravention of section 83(1) of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act1998.
If found guilty,the charges carry heavy penalties for both DWD and Mr Anthony.
It is allegedthat between May 2016 to April 2018, DWD/Mr Anthony sourced several thousandcubic metres of construction and building wastes and that this material wasdisposed of and spread onto land owned by DWD/Mr Anthony and adjacent Crown Landsat Mavie Street, Darwin.
The disposaland burial of these wastes raised the levels of the land, covered foreshore habitatand filled a large area of Darwin Harbour with wastes and contaminants.
DWD and MrAnthony were issued with Pollution Abatement Notices in 2018 to address this incident.At this time, all of the wastes allegedly deposited by DWD/Mr Anthony remainin situ.
This matter isdue to be heard at the Darwin Local Court on 27 May 2019.
Anyone withinformation about any pollution incident is reminded to contact the NT EPAPollution Hotline on 1800 064 567 so that it can be investigated and appropriateaction taken to prevent harm to the environment.
