THE NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued an official caution to an Orange demolition and waste transport business for incorrectly transporting asbestos waste from a building site at the Summer Centre last month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On July 22 EPA director south Gary Whytcross said the EPA had received a complaint from a member of the community, raising concerns that demolition waste, including asbestos waste, was being incorrectly handled.
“The EPA immediately began an investigation, which included an inspection of the site,” Mr Whytcross said.
“The EPA’s investigation concluded that while the demolition waste, which also included bonded asbestos waste, had been securely packaged and disposed of at an appropriate landfill, the truck used to transport the bonded asbestos waste was not covered.
“While the secure bags enabled the waste to be transported safely, the truck should have been covered and the official caution has been issued to make sure that the operators cover their trucks in the future.”
Mr Whytcross said official cautions were one of the regulatory tools the EPA used to achieve environmental outcomes.
He said the EPA also had the power to issue penalty notices, clean-up notices, licence conditions or mandatory environmental audits.
“When deciding on a particular regulatory response the EPA takes a range of factors into consideration including the degree of environmental harm, whether or not there are any real or potential health impacts, if the action of the offender was deliberate, compliance history, public interest and best environmental outcomes,” he said.
Anyone with concerns about illegal waste transport or knowledge of a related environmental incident are asked to contact the EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555.
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
