MAN FINED $45,000 AFTER ILLEGAL DUMPING OF WASTE23 May 2007A Bundoora man has been convicted and fined $45,000 after he pleaded guilty at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court to offences relating to the operation of an illegal landfill.
Jeffrey Graham Reading pleaded guilty to a charge of depositing waste without a licence and also pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a Pollution Abatement Notice (PAN) and a Clean Up Notice (CUN).
The illegal dump site in Thomastown was leased by Mr Reading from SP AusNet.
The series of offences commenced in 2002 and continued until 2006 when SP AusNet regained possession of the site following Supreme Court proceedings to evict Mr Reading.
At the time of eviction, an estimated 27,000 cubic metres of waste had accumulated at the site.
Asbestos was found amongst the waste, which mainly comprised building and demolition materials.
EPA Executive Director Regional Services Bruce Dawson said that illegal waste disposal activities are taken very seriously by EPA.
“Financial benefits were obtained by the defendant from these illegal activities which have resulted in a very time consuming and expensive environmental remediation process for this site,” Mr Dawson said.
“The owner of the site, SP AusNet, is now responsible for substantial remediation and clean up costs,” Mr Dawson said.
Magistrate Kumar heard the guilty plea and ordered Reading to pay EPA's costs of $11,000 in addition to the fine of $45,000 with conviction.
SP AusNet Manager Health Safety and Environment David Just said his company have been taking proactive measures to remedy this issue and appreciate the assistance of the courts and EPA to finally see this result for the site.
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