A Ballarat development company and its director are being taken to the Supreme Court over activity that is allegedly polluting the Yarrowee River.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has filed an action against Vista Estate Pty Ltd, which is building on a site at Hillview Road in the Brown Hill Area, alleging construction on the 18-hectare site is causing pollution in the river.
In a media statement, EPA chief executive Lee Miezis said the authority had become aware of the issues in February of this year and has since done multiple inspections of the site.
Five remedial notices have also been handed to the land manager.
"These have required the land manager to manage the risk, prevent the discharge by installing sediment controls, and develop a clean up plan for the river," Mr Miezis said.
The EPA is also "seeking final orders imposing civil pecuniary penalties, declarations in relation to contraventions of the Act, adverse publicity orders, a restorative project order and general prevention orders".
"The injunction sought would require Vista to conduct the manual extraction and disposal of sediment as detailed in Vista's Remediation Plan as soon as it is safe to do so, install multiple silt curtains of decreasing porosity downstream from the remediation work; and stop the remediation work if downstream turbidity exceeds a nominated value," Mr Miezis said.
"We have also filed for an interim injunction that would be in force whilst the substantive proceedings continue that would require Vista Estate Pty Ltd to cease all stormwater discharge from the premises and any other orders from the court, addressing the runoff issue."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The EPA said it had no alternative but to go through the court system, despite it being in frequent contact with the company in the past.
"The Supreme Court action is EPA's next step in the legal process to stop the pollution we allege is being caused by the construction activity," Mr Miezis said.
"Whilst some works have been done, EPA is not satisfied with the timeliness and extent of it overall, or the ongoing maintenance of controls,
"We hold all business activities to account, including construction sites."
Penalties for the alleged breaches of the Environment Protection Act can be as high as $3.8 million for a corporation.
Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.
