The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued four fines totalling $60,000 after waste containing asbestos was unlawfully used for road construction at a site in Somersby.
The EPA issued the fines after first investigating the storage of waste at the Coast Wide Skips site at Marstan Cl, West Gosford.
Between October 2015 and August 2016, EPA officers inspected the West Gosford site multiple times and found that the site operator was storing more than the permissible limit of waste without holding a licence.
A volumetric survey provided to the EPA by Coast Wide Skips Pty Ltd confirmed it had exceeded the limit.
The EPA has issued an official caution to Coast Wide Skips Pty Ltd for using a place as a waste facility without lawful authority and carrying on scheduled activities without a licence.
As the Marstan Cl investigation was ongoing, EPA officers found that Coast Wide Skips was transporting waste to a rural property on Wiseman’s Ferry Rd in Somersby.
This property is being developed into homes, and the property owner, Wytown Pty Ltd, used the waste to construct internal roads.
With the help of the Hunter/Central Coast RID squad, EPA officers inspected the waste and found that it included brick, concrete, timber and plastic.
Asbestos was found in some sections of the road.
The EPA is working with Wytown Pty Ltd to clean up the waste, including the asbestos, before any further development can occur.
The EPA issued four fines as a result of the investigation.
Coast Wide Skips were issued two fines of $15,000 each, for polluting land and transporting waste to a place that could not lawfully receive it, and Wytown Pty Ltd was issued with two fines of $15,000 each for unlawfully using a site as a waste facility and for polluting land.
EPA Waste Compliance Manager, Ms Cate Woods, said the fines reflected the environmental threat the unlawful activities had caused.
“EPA officers tracked this waste from the source to the deposit point and were able to spot an environmental hazard before any irreparable harm could be caused,” Ms Woods said.
“Using such waste in the development of a rural-residential estate is totally unacceptable,” she said.
“Developers need to make sure that any material used for construction is of the highest standard.
“This started as a review of waste storage practices, but thorough investigative work and co-operation with the local RID squad, resulted in penalties for four serious waste offences.”
Source:
Media release, Jun 5
Cate Woods, Environmental Protection Authority