The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty $30,000 after allegedly failing to comply with the conditions of the Environment Protection Licence covering their Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility in the Woodlawn Eco-Precinct in Tarago.
During a routine inspection of the facility in April this year, EPA officers observed a large amount of leachate collecting on compost pads. Further inspection revealed that the drain designed to transfer leachate from the pads to the treatment dam was blocked, causing the liquid to back up and flood the pads.
NSW EPA Executive Director of Operations, Jason Gordon, said the incident had the potential to cause odour issues and could have been avoided if more effective measures were in place.
We expect all EPA licenced waste facilities to comply with the conditions of their licence, which includes maintaining and operating plants and their equipment in a proper and efficient manner. This was a clear failure to do so, Mr Gordon said.
Proper management of composting activities involving leachate – the contaminated liquid generated during the composting process – is crucial to prevent the pollution of subsoil, groundwater, and surface water, as well as offensive odours that can escape and impact neighbouring communities.
In our view, this incident was preventable. Not only was the drain blocked but the leachate dam it served was full and resources available to help better manage the situation were not used. In this case, temporary rubber storage bladders should have been used by Veolia to store the excess leachate and create capacity in the dam.
The EPA has previously issued Veolia with a formal warning and official cautions regarding non-compliance with the licence conditions for their Mechanical Biological Treatment facility. Leachate management at the facility is also the subject of a pollution reduction program on the licence.
