Wangaratta Magistrates' Court has ordered a North Wangaratta particle board manufacturer to pay a $45,000 penalty that will fund a local environmental project, after a 2023 incident that affected properties more than a kilometre away.
The project will involve woody weed removal and replanting with species indigenous to the local area, at locations around Reedy Creek, Yellow Creek, and a nearby site on Stamps Lane.
Alpine MDF Industries Pty Ltd entered a plea of guilty on a charge from EPA Victoria, after the incident that rained down hundreds of kilograms of fine wood fibres on neighbouring properties, including a motel more than 1.5 kms away. The charge was found proven, without conviction.
Alpine MDF Industries processes wood chips into soft fibres, treats them with chemicals, then moulds them into Medium Density Fibre (MDF) board for the building industry. The incident on 25 April 2023 sent more than 300 kilograms of fibres into the air after a hatch on an industrial dryer dislodged at the factory on Crosher Lane.
The discharge continued for more than 20 minutes, sending fibres raining down on buildings, vehicles and land to the northwest of the factory. Security cameras at another company on Buckler Road, recorded fibres falling for at least 23 minutes between 8 and 8.30 am. A triple zero call reported escaped dust creating a breathing hazard, and the neighbouring company closed down for more than a week after the incident.
Alpine MDF Industries Pty Ltd later engaged contractors to clean up at neighbouring companies, and offered to reinstate paddocks and dams on nearby farms. The company approached the Wangaratta North Family Motel offering to pay for the cleaning of vehicles and any roof or other exposed surface.
EPA Victoria charged the company with a breach of its operating licence, for discharging waste to air at a rate greater than prescribed, and discharging visible emissions to air in a manner not permitted by the licence.
The environmental project to be funded by the company's penalty will be run by local organisations: the North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), Wangaratta Urban Landcare and Sustainability (WLS), Landcrew Partner, and Swamps Rivers and Ranges (SRR).
The woody weeds targeted by the project include the Box Elder, London Plane Tree, Desert Ash and Blackberries.
The organisations also hope to run a community workshop, demonstrating skills for controlling the invasive Black Willows that affect local waterways.
The penalty has been applied under a section of the Environment Protection Act that empowers EPA Victoria to recommend the funding of a local conservation project in place of a fine.
The company must also pay EPA Victoria $5,819 in court costs and publicise details of the penalty in local media.
