Tara Murray
The criminal hearing into the charges laid against Barro Group in relation to underground fires at the Sunshine Landfill have been adjourned.
The Environmental Protection Authority provided residents an update of the events occurring at the site from an EPA perspective.
The EPA laid charges against the company and three of its directors last year, with breaches of the General Environmental Duty (GED) under the Environment Protection Act 2017. The matter went before the court on March 31 and was adjourned to June 5.
It comes after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal refused Barro Group’s application for a stay on enforcing the licence revocation.
The licence was cancelled in January, which means Barro can no longer accept waste.
The EPA said the decision to cancel the licence followed assessment of information Barro Group provided in response to a show cause notice issued by EPA on October 28, 2022.
The matter is still before the tribunal, with a final hearing scheduled for October and November.
While the legal action is being carried out, the EPA has issued a further two regulatory notices on Barro.
“Firstly [is], a notice to investigate,” the EPA’s western metropolitan region regional manager Steve Lansdell said in the update.
“This requires Barro Group to do further temperature monitoring along parts of the landfill boundary and batter walls.
“A scope for the required works, verified by an independent auditor, is due by May 15 A final auditor-verified report is due by August 25.
“We also issued a further improvement notice. This requires a new auditor-verified remediation and monitoring design. Barro Group must provide a draft of this design to us by May 15. Barro Group must provide the final version with the auditor sign off to us by June 13.”
The EPA is also following up concerns raised at a community meeting in March about a ‘Pongo’ deodoriser and dust impacts.
