Macka’s Sand and Soil has been told to pay a $15,000 fine for water pollution at its Salt Ash operation.
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NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) officers detected the offense on October 12 during an onsite inspection.
“While we were on site we observed sediment laden water leaving the sand processing plant,” EPA Hunter director Karen Marler said.
“The water ran into a drain that flowed beyond the Macka’s boundary.”
Grafil Pty Ltd, which trades as Macka’s Sand and Soil, was fined $15,000 last may when asbestos was found there in waste piles.
The business is already facing court action on April 7 for allegedly using the property as landfill site, without permits.
“It’s something before the courts so I probably can’t comment,” the owner, mayor of Port Stephens, Cr Bruce MacKenzie, said of the latest fine.
“When you have a lot of water and crap, sometimes it flows off the property.”
The EPA said analysis of water samples taken by its officers confirmed that there were high levels of suspended particles in the water which had the potential to cause damage to the “fragile balance of the Hunter’s waterways”.
“The results of our sampling showed us that the environmental controls at Macka’s Sand and Soil were not working effectively which is why we’ve issued the $15,000 fine,” Ms Marler.
“Luckily there was no evidence of environmental harm on this occasion.”
The EPA commenced the Land and Environment Court against Grafil in May 2016. It alleges Macka’s Sand and Soil premises was being operated as a waste facility without lawful authority.
Penalty notices are one of a number of tools the EPA said it could use to achieve environmental compliance.
The EPA takes “a range of factors into account” before delivering “a proportionate regulatory response”, including the degree of environmental harm, potential health impacts, compliance history, public interest and best environmental outcomes.
