A mechanical repair workshop operator has been fined more than $9,000 after EPA officers inspecting the Koo Wee Rup site on 18 April found a truck loaded with waste oil and other liquids parked a few hundred metres away.
EPA South Metropolitan Regional Manager Viranga Abeywickrema says the premises in Station Street, Koo Wee Rup, appeared to have complied with EPA requirements until they spotted the truck.
“Waste oil like that is a priority waste; for the protection of the environment and the community, it must be transported in a permitted vehicle to a facility that is licensed to accept it and equipped to deal with it,” Mr Abeywickrema said.
“The truck we found wasn’t permitted or equipped to carry liquid waste and had just been parked by the side of the road with no sign it was going anywhere but away from the company’s premises,” he said.
The EPA officers found it loaded with thousands of litres of waste hydrocarbons in various sized containers. At least one of the containers was marked with the name of the company that operates the workshop.
“Where it was parked, any leak would have sent hazardous hydrocarbon pollution onto unsealed ground where it would contaminate the soil, before being washed into nearby stormwater drains that lead to the Bunyip River and then Westernport Bay,” Mr Abeywickrema said.
The company, O’Diesel Pty Ltd, registered at the nearby town of Officer, has been fined $9,246 for transporting reportable priority waste other than in accordance with a permission, a breach of the Environment Protection Act 2017.
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Infringements Act 2006, the operator has the right to have the infringement notice reviewed or be considered by a court.
Members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA’s 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at www.epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
