THE Environment Protection Authority has forced a Brooklyn transport company to stop dragging mud from its site onto Somerville Road.
A pollution abatement notice issued to Slidecross Transport is the ninth such notice issued in Brooklyn this year and the 53rd in the past three years.
EPA metro manager Richard Marks said the authority was continuing a crack down in the area to cut the amount of dust still escaping.
Mr Marks said the councils must fix the roads, but industry would need to manage its sites effectively.
The EPA has signed an agreement with Brimbank Council to ensure problematic roads causing dust are fixed, urgently.
“Residents have had enough and the EPA wants to get these problems sorted so that the Brooklyn community can live unaffected by the impacts of industry,” Mr Marks said.
Slidecross Transport owner Paul Ribbera said the company regularly watered its site using a water-truck to ensure no dust escaped the property.
He conceded mud had been an issue and there were plans to lay ballast on the driveway.
“We will be sealing the driveway, as far as we can, so no mud goes onto the road,” he said. “They [EPA] want us to use concrete, but we are only leasing the property and there are big pipes running through the driveway.
“We can’t spend $200,000 on sealing. We are asking the EPA to send a letter to the owners.”
In 2010, Slidecross was fined by Brimbank Council and directed to cease its practice of fumigating with methyl bromide.
Yarraville On The Nose group president Bruce Light said the EPA action was a step in the right direction.
“Industry still isn’t doing enough,” he said. “They say they are complying with the licence agreements, but some of them have total disregard for residents in the area.”
