Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria officers have been attending a number of sites along Kororoit Creek in Sunshine and Williamstown North to search for any risks of contamination for local waterways.
As part of the ongoing program to resolve issues before they can cause a spill or allow chemicals to escape into stormwater drains, creeks or rivers, officers also targeted businesses around Edgars Creek in Thomastown in Melbourne’s north and the Merri River Estuary in Warrnambool in the state’s south west.
EPA Victoria chief executive Lee Miezis said officers provided more than 130 pieces of compliance advice and would return for follow-up inspections,
“Businesses were cooperative and most of the issues we found could be fixed easily,” he said.
“We issued 17 remedial notices; each one is an instruction from EPA to take specific actions to fix a problem.
“They come with a set deadline and there’s no fine if the business complies.”
Mr Miezis said he and the team were “pleased” to report they were only considering fining one business, with the focus on providing sensible preventative measures.
“Stormwater drains empty into local waterways, such as creeks and rivers, so it’s important that businesses know their responsibility to take all reasonable actions to prevent pollution,” he said.
The investigations targeted a wide range of businesses, including concrete batching plants to chemical handling businesses.
Issues found during the inspections included the lack of a bund or a surrounding barrier to stop spills from reaching a drain or leaving the property, the lack of proper storage and management systems for liquids, inappropriate storage or handling of waste which could burn, such as tyres or timber, wastewater escaping to stormwater drains and the lack of spill kits.
As ensuring local waters remain healthy is essential for Traditional Owners and their cultural responsibility, the inspection teams included advisors from local Indigenous communities.
