The troubled Bulla tip has stopped accepting waste after its licence was suspended by the Environment Protection Authority.
The EPA suspended the licence of tip operator BTQ Group earlier this month, forcing it to stop landfilling at Bulla.
EPA chief executive Nial Finegan said the tip had been the site of multiple licence breaches in recent years and the EPA was concerned about the way in which the tip was being run.
He said breaches included exposed friable asbestos, litter and dust beyond the boundary, multiple subsurface fires, uncovered waste, waste deposited beyond the site boundary and deep excavations within previously filled landfill cells that had culminated in serious occupational safety issues and health risks to on-site workers and nearby community members and an environmental risk to nearby sensitive receptors and agricultural use.
“Suspending the licence of a landfill operator and forcing it to cease accepting waste, we hope, will provide the time required to bring its operation back into compliance,” Mr Finegan said.
The decision to suspend the licence follows EPA action on March 13 in which the tip operator was ordered to cease the shredding and movement of waste containing identified asbestos fragments.
In April last year, BTQ Group was fined more than $7700 by the EPA after it was caught not covering dumped waste. The EPA used a drone to gather photographs and video footage of extensive areas of exposed waste.
“Waste management is an increasingly important issue and the community has the reasonable expectation that landfill sites will be properly operated within the terms of their licences, and if they are not, that the regulator will use its powers to enforce compliance,” Mr Finegan said.
Sunbury Residents Association president Peter Free said the community welcomed the decision.
“This is a win for us. We have had concerns about the tip for quite a few years,” he said.
“The smell, rubbish and fires burning under the tip have been ongoing concerns for us and a lot of people have been questioning what is actually being dumped in the tip.”
BTQ Group will need to prove to the EPA that it can operate the tip according to its licence in order for the suspension to be lifted. It can appeal the EPA’s decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
BTQ Group did not respond to Star Weekly’s request for comment.
