A snap program by a team of EPA West Metropolitan Regional officers inspecting warehouses and logistics facilities handling dangerous goods, has found there are still gaps in operators' knowledge about their environmental obligations.
The snap inspection program, carried out on Wednesday (22 October) in the Altona, Derrimut, Tottenham and Laverton areas, visited 15 sites, dropping in without warning.
High on the inspection agenda was determining not just how they managed storage of dangerous goods, but their preparedness in case there was a spill or a fire.
"The General Environmental Duty (GED) of the Environment Protection Act requires all Victorians, including businesses, to take reasonable action to prevent and minimise harm to the environment and the community," said EPA West Metropolitan Regional Manager Julia Gaitan.
"This includes how businesses managing flammable and reactive dangerous goods plan to prevent fire wash-waters from entering the surrounding environment should a fire occur.
"It's important that businesses think about the impact they could have beyond their own boundaries and controls they can put in place to prevent harm from occurring. What can they do to prevent fire wash-waters running off if there is a major fire?
"We were looking at things like bunding, material separation processes, fire prevention controls, fire suppression systems, and drain protection measures.
"We found many facilities still need to improve liquid storage and handling practices more generally to prevent spills and also to prevent escaping to stormwater drains, which then flow into our waterways, and also improving systems to identify reasonable controls to mitigate fire wash-water risks".
"We'll now review what we found from the inspections and decide appropriate actions on a case-by-case basis, which could include notices to make improvements."
