THE Environment and Protection Authority (EPA) is investigating after piles of mulch remained at the Boorcan transfer station causing a stench for nearby landowners.
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The EPA visited the Wheelie Waste’s Materials Recovery Facility site this week to investigate compliance after residents complained of smoke coming from the site, about nine kilometres from Terang.
EPA south-west manager Eve Graham said the EPA received a report on July 17 from a community member advising smoke was coming from the site.
“Local council and the Country Fire Authority were also contacted and EPA was not required to take further action,” she said.
“EPA has not received any reports on its pollution hotline relating to odour from the public regarding this site. Now that EPA has been made aware of a resident’s concerns, it will inspect the site this week to further investigate compliance with best-practice environmental management.”
Ms Graham said the transfer station was not an EPA-licensed facility.
”Transfer stations otherwise operate under council planning permits and EPA acts as a statutory referral authority for their use and development,” she said.
“If a site is found to be causing pollution, EPA would consider issuing enforcement in line with its Compliance and Enforcement policy.”
EPA licenses composting operations when they are designed to, or have, the capacity to process more than 100 tonnes of waste per month.
Wheelie Waste did not respond to The Standard’s request for comment.
A nearby resident, who did not want to be named, said the mulch had been self combusting and smoking since July 3.
“It smells shocking,” she said. “If the wind changes we cop it 24 hours a day. It’s a health issue.
“It’s 200 metres of piled mulch. It’s putrid.”
The resident said there was work done at the site on Friday to improve it but it had since started smoking again. She said she worried what would happen in summer time.
Corangamite Shire mayor Chris O’Connor said locals had raised concerns with the council and they had been forwarded on to the EPA.