Water pollution fines levied on a large Sydney developer have been halved after an appeal court found the company’s failure to properly implement soil erosion and sediment controls at a construction site was not motivated by money.
Sydney Water has been fined $200,000 in a sentencing hearing after being found guilty of a serious pollution incident in 2019 when its actions caused untreated sewage to overflow into a nearby creek.
In an important case considering the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s powers to issue stay orders under the state’s revised Environment Protection Act, big global meat products company Van Hessen has been denied a stay of a prohibition notice that will potentially cost it up to $200,000 per week and result in the loss of 30 full time jobs.
Sydney Water has failed to convince a court that its actions leading to a sewage leak were necessary to protect human health, but the utility will be found not guilty of a related pollution charge unless the NSW EPA lodges an appeal.
A healthcare company that was storing ethanol outside of bunded areas was today fined $297,500 for water pollution, after a large fire at its Sydney site that manufactured hand sanitiser.
A scientific committee that advises state and federal governments on coal mines has warned that South32's revised proposal to expand its Dendrobium project will still have severe and irreversible impacts.
Industry is set to face a range of new requirements when planning new or expanded projects, under a groundwater strategy being developed by the NSW government.
A court has fined Cleanaway $617,500 for causing pollution and being slow to report it, and has ordered it to pay EPA costs of $305,000, while its clean-up costs totalled $750,000.