A chance discovery by Environment Protection Authority (EPA) officers driving past a West Footscray creek has resulted in a $6000 fine for a construction contractor.
Kapitol Group Pty Ltd will pay a $6105 fine after officers spotted muddy building site sediment flowing into Stony Creek while doing routine inspections at industrial sites around Footscray on 7 November last year.
Stopping to investigate, the officers found water carrying significant amounts of sediment was flowing from a stormwater drain into the creek.
Water in the creek was clear upstream, but became an opaque, muddy brown below the point where the flow from the drain entered it.
EPA officers followed the flow of sediment back to Kapitol Group’s construction site on Paramount Road, West Footscray, where they found the site lacked sediment controls such as barriers to trap sediment-laden runoff.
Kapitol Group is currently expanding a data centre on the Paramount Road site which borders Stony Creek.
EPA western metropolitan regional manager Julia Gaitan said even if the sediment was only mud, it could still harm aquatic life in the creek.
“Significant amounts of sediment entering a creek can block sunlight, affecting plant life, and it can reduce the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, killing the tiny invertebrates that are food species for fish,” Ms Gaitan said.
“And if runoff from a building site contains significant amounts of sediment, it can just as easily contain residue from paint, glue, sealers, cement and other industrial chemicals.
“The moment it leaves the building site, it becomes pollution and represents a risk to the community and the environment.”
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Infringements Act 2006, the company has the right to have the infringement notice reviewed or be considered by a court.
