The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has taken regulatory action against Verde Terra Pty Ltd, operator of the Mangrove Mountain Landfill, to ensure the licence is fit for purpose and the site is operating in an environmentally satisfactory manner.
Actions this week include changes to the landfill's Environment Protection Licence, following a statutory 5-year review, and an unrelated $30,000 penalty infringement notice for the alleged pollution of waters at the Mangrove Mountain landfill following an EPA investigation.
EPA Director Operations David Gathercole said that changes to the licence's operating conditions will support proper management of the site including:
- Increasing pollution monitoring for groundwater and surface water, including for PFAS
- Improving the groundwater monitoring regime with new groundwater bores to provide a better understanding of leachate movement at the site
- Developing a community and stakeholder engagement plan to keep residents updated
- Removing conditions to ensure the licence is consistent with findings in legal proceedings between the Central Coast Council, Verde Terra and the EPA
- Other administrative changes.
"Environment Protection Licences are a critical tool to ensure that industry operates in an environmentally satisfactory manner," Mr Gathercole said.
"We review each licence at least every 5 years and will make all changes necessary to ensure that individual operating conditions remain fit for purpose."
Separately to the licence review process, Verde Terra has also received a $30,000 fine following an investigation by EPA officers who witnessed about seven litres of engine oil leaking into an onsite sediment dam that discharged into a nearby creek.
Mr Gathercole said that Verde Terra had responded to the EPA's immediate Clean Up Notice and that subsequent testing downstream had not detected any oil or grease.
"While it's fortunate in this instance that there was no pollution detected downstream, we do expect our licensees to operate responsibly by adequately maintaining their sites and equipment to prevent spills from occurring in the first place," Mr Gathercole said.
"As this Mangrove Mountain site is in a drinking water catchment, on the upper Ourimbah Creek, it is vital that they operate in an environmentally satisfactory manner."
These actions follow two Prevention Notices issued earlier this year in relation to the investigation and management of leachate.
Verde Terra suspended landfilling operations on the site in 2014 but their Environment Protection Licence requires the operators to continue monitoring and managing the environmental impact of the landfill.
