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.
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.
After giving an enforceable undertaking for a water breach that Whitehaven Coal said reflected typical behaviour in the mining industry, a court has now fined the company $200,000.
For the second time in two weeks, a NSW court has ruled that an EPA summons is flawed due to duplicity, and the agency is considering whether to launch an appeal.
Sydney Water breached an environmental obligation and a duty of care by allowing treated effluent to erode downstream creek banks, the Chief Justice of NSW's environment court has held.
A court has fined Sydney Water over a poorly-managed site clean-up, but has also warned the EPA that any allegations of recklessness should be made early in proceedings.
NSW's Court of Appeal today ruled that summonses issued by an environmental agency were duplicitous, and warned regulators that they must follow standard procedures.