Cleanaway Equipment Services Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined more than $600,000 in the Land and Environment Court for two water pollution offences and one offence for failing to immediately notify the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) of a pollution incident at its Queanbeyan premises in May 2020.
On 14 May 2020, the solvent Vivasol 2046 leaked from the Queanbeyan premises into the stormwater system and flowed into the Molonglo River. Cleanaway took more than four hours to report the incident to the EPA.
The second water pollution offence occurred the following day on 15 May 2020 when water containing Vivasol 2046 again escaped from the premises and entered the stormwater system.
EPA Acting Chief Executive Officer Jacqueleine Moore welcomed the judgment.
"This conviction and fine sends a clear message that all businesses are accountable to the people of NSW when it comes to protecting the environment," Ms Moore said.
"It's the duty of all NSW businesses to notify the EPA if their operations threaten or cause harm to the environment."
"In this case, not only was the pollution of the river a serious incident, but the unnecessary delay in reporting to the EPA contributed to a prolonged impact and clean up by multiple government agencies in NSW and the ACT."
The penalties include fines of $280,000 and $150,000 for the two pollution of water offences, and $187,500 for the failure to notify.
The Court also ordered Cleanaway to pay legal and investigation costs of more than $305,000.
The maximum penalty for a water pollution offence by a corporation is $1 million and the maximum penalty for the offence of failing to notify the EPA of a pollution incident is $2 million. However, the penalty handed down by Justice Pain was discounted due to Cleanaway's early guilty plea to all charges.
Cleanaway subsidiary companies have previously been subject to EPA action with a $15,000 fine in November 2020 for alleged waste storage offences at Rutherford and a $1,500 fine for alleged poor record keeping at a South Windsor premises.
Prosecutions are one of the tools the EPA uses to achieve the best environmental or human health outcomes. Our regulatory approach includes a wide variety of options.
