EPA Victoria has issued Cranbourne landfill operator SBI Inert Landfill with a prohibition notice on Wednesday 10 August, stopping it from accepting waste until odour issues at the site are properly managed.
EPA continues to actively regulate SBI to ensure it safely fixes the issues at the Ballarto Road, Cranbourne location, particularly odour that is impacting on the local community.
Chief executive of the EPA, Lee Miezis said the notice stops any further waste being accepted at the landfill and requires SBI to hire an environmental manager to specifically address issues at the site.
“The prohibition on receiving waste follows an early morning inspection undertaken by EPA officers on Monday and means SBI is required to put its sole focus on dealing with the impacts on the community,” Mr Miezis said.
“There has been intense activity at the SBI site under EPA’s direction but the community continues to be affected by odour. The Prohibition Notice is an escalation in EPA’s regulation of site and we will take further action as appropriate.
“EPA has liaised closely with the local community and met with them on several occasions. We will continue to provide updates as we have them.”
The EPA Prohibition Notice is in addition to existing regulatory notices that EPA has issued to the company that require it to take action:
* Landfill gas (odour) management – the notice requires odours from the site to be fixed by 25 August, with works already done, including gas wells being installed to capture and reduce odours.
* Hot spot monitoring plan – the plan has been submitted and is being reviewed by EPA.
* Stockpiled waste – this notice required the removal of stockpiled material at the site.
* Liquid waste management – the notice requires appropriate and safe storage of liquid waste. This notice has been complied with.
Failure to comply with the requirements of these notices could result in sanctions ranging from fines of up to 2400 penalty units (approximately $396,000) through to licence suspension and even cancellation, the EPA said.
The EPA regularly inspects the site and surrounds, including spot checks, gas and air monitoring with results provided to the community.
Investigations continue into the site and the duty holders.
SBI announced last week on their website that framework for a new landfill gas extraction system had been installed on Wednesday 3 August and testing would commence on the following Thursday and Friday.
Removal of stagnant water was completed on Sunday 24 July, SBI said.
The City of Casey announced an update on the situation on Tuesday 9 August, saying it was “continuing to liaise closely” with EPA.
The council issued a Planning Contravention Notice to SBI as part of its continued advocacy on behalf of their residents.
The EPA encourages residents impacted by the smell to complete a pollution report form, call the EPA (1300 372 842) or email them at contact@epa.vic.gov.au
Pollution report forms can be found at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
