EPA has fined Mansfield Shire Council more than $8,000 for environmental breaches at the closed landfill on Monkey Gully Rd, Mansfield.
EPA North East Regional Manager Renee Palmer says closed landfills are subject to strict controls that protect the environment and the community.
"When EPA applies a Post Closure Pollution Abatement Notice (PCPAN) to a closed landfill, it includes legal requirements to control things like odour, flammable gas, greenhouse gas, and liquids that might leach from the site and affect the area's groundwater," Ms Palmer said.
"Those requirements continue long after the landfill has been sealed up and is no longer in use, and in this case the Shire Council's management of the site breached several of them and they failed to notify EPA," she said.
The fine for Mansfield Shire Council is for a breach of the PCPAN, which includes requirements covering landfill gas, leachate (liquid) and monitoring/reporting.
"EPA has fined Mansfield Shire Council $8,261, and the requirements of the PCPAN must still be met," Ms Palmer said.
"EPA regulatory notices are issued under the Environment Protection Act and must be taken seriously. They are there to protect the environment and the community, and we will enforce them wherever there are breaches," she said.
EPA is working with the Council to ensure the landfill is brought into compliance with appropriate environmental protections in place.
Under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Infringements Act 2006, the operator has the right to have the infringement notice reviewed or be considered by a court.
Members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA's 24 hour hotline on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
