Delta pleads not guilty to causing mass fish kill

The operator of Vales Point Power Station, Delta Electricity, pleaded not guilty in court on Friday, April 19, over a distressing mass fish kill incident at Mannering Park in 2022.  

Community members were devastated when two major fish kills occurred in August and September 2022, resulting in an estimated 15,000 dead fish including Whitespotted eagle rays washing up onto the shores of Wyee Bay in Lake Macquarie.  

Delta Electricity pleaded not guilty in the NSW Land and Environment Court to one criminal charge for a breach of a condition of its licence brought by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for the September fish kill.  

The EPA is prosecuting Delta for its alleged failure to maintain its chlorine dosing plant in a proper and efficient condition, resulting in a faulty valve that caused a discharge of concentrated sodium hypochlorite into waters leading to Wyee Bay.  

When the prosecution was initiated in September 2023, NSW EPA Chief Executive Tony Chappel said it followed a comprehensive investigation using all available resources.

The investigation came after sustained community campaigning against numerous pollution issues from Delta’s Vales Point Power Station – including claims of negative impact on community health from toxic air pollution, contamination of groundwater from its coal ash dump and the company’s efforts to get exemptions from NSW air pollution laws. 

The EPA alleges the mass fish kill incident came about following a breach of Delta’s environment protection licence and an offence against section 64 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 which carries penalties of up to $1M.

Environmental Justice Australia lawyer Jocelyn McGarity said this was the first EPA prosecution against a NSW coal-fired power station in more than a decade – with the only other being against Delta Electricity back in 2009 for its operations at Wallerawang power station, which has since closed.  

“If Delta is found guilty, we hope the EPA fights hard for strong fines and penalties – including restoration orders that reflect the devastation and distress caused to our beautiful lake, its marine life and the community,” McGarity said.

“It’s also a timely reminder that at the same time Delta Electricity is being prosecuted, Delta Coal is looking to expand its coal mining operations underneath Lake Macquarie at Chain Valley and Mannering coal mines in order to keep supplying coal to Vales Point beyond 2027.”

Hunter Community Environment Centre Co-ordinator Jo Lynch said many wished Vales Point was the first power station scheduled to close on the lake.  

“Community members are watching this prosecution closely and if Delta is found guilty, they’re eager to see the devastation of the fish kill result in tangible improvements in the health of Lake Macquarie’s ecosystem,” Lynch said.