Dump site charges
Orders to clear up eyesore ignored, EPA alleges
A MAN is facing two charges following an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) investigation into the alleged failure to remove illegally dumped waste from a residential property in Lara (pictured).
It is alleged the man failed to comply with an EPA notice that required a large waste stockpile to be removed from the property in Patullos Rd, Lara.
The charges come after giant boulders were last month placed at the property’s entry in a bid to stop further waste being discarded on the land.
Nearby residents had complained for months of illegal dumping and that numerous clean-up orders, some dating back to last October, had allegedly been ignored.
There were no permits in place for waste collection or processing at the site.
EPA southwest regional manager Carolyn Francis said the authority took matters of this kind very seriously.
“EPA will not tolerate pollution of the environment and will not hesitate to take action if it thinks offences have occurred,” Ms Francis said. “It is important that anyone witnessing the dumping of waste contact EPA directly. They can do so confidentially. This allows EPA to obtain critical information directly from those who witnessed activities.”
The Geelong Advertiser has previously reported that Transformer Bin Hire is registered to one of the businesses believed to have been listed on the property’s lease, and bins marked “Transformer” have been seen on the property.
Transformer Bin Hire is understood to operate from a Victoria St property in North Geelong and the City of Greater Geelong last month confirmed operators had a current permit for that site.
“Council is currently investigating breaches of the permit for the site as well as dumping of rubbish,” the council’s director of planning, design and development, Gareth Smith, said last month.
Mr Smith said interim enforcement orders relating to the Patullos Rd site were handed down by VCAT in May, requiring operators to cease the following activities: BRINGING skip bins and waste on to the land;
THE sorting and moving of the waste on the subject land; and THE burning of waste on the subject land.
The property is owned by a Melbourne-based investor and was rented through the Hodges Real Estate agency in Lara.