Noosa Council has escaped a hefty fine after being found guilty of burning and disposing of toxic material at one of its depots “without the necessary environmental approvals”.
After a lengthy investigation, the Department of Environment of Science (DES) has finalised the matter and issued the council, considered one of the greenest in the nation, with a formal warning.
The maximum fine for “carrying out an environmentally-relevant activity without a permit” is $600,525 for an individual and $3,002,625 for a corporation, but there is provision for warnings and other enforcement orders.
The Noosa investigation was revealed by sunshinecoastnews.com.au on December 11 last year.
It was sparked by a complaint that council workers had gathered redundant CCA-treated timber, commonly used in fences, bollards and park equipment, and incinerated it at its depot off Yurol Forest Drive at Pomona. Workers allegedly buried the contaminated ash on the property.
Copper chrome arsenate (CCA) treated timber is wood that has been treated with a preservative containing copper, chromium and the poison arsenic. The CSIRO outlines that it is safe unless ingested or burnt. It advises caution and breathing apparatus for those near fires that contain the treated timber because of the toxic gas it emits.
DES said it found that Noosa Council had constructed a burn pit at its Pomona depot and incinerated construction timber without the necessary approvals.
This followed scientific testing of material taken from the site and a review by independent experts.
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A DES spokesman said the department had reviewed the Noosa Council report investigating the source, cause and extent of the impact and was satisfied that the clean-up of the site undertaken by Council had minimised the risk of environmental harm.
“DES has finalised its investigation into the matter and has decided to issue Noosa Council with a formal warning for disposing of waste without approval.
“As part of its investigation, the department determined that Council had applied to Queensland Fire and Emergency Service for a permit and were approved to light fires at the site.’’
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Noosa Council’s Acting Infrastructure Services Director, Bryan O’Connor, said previously that Council was confident that any harm to the environment had been contained as the soil has been removed and disposed of professionally.
He said staff had been retrained in fire procedures as part of Council’s proactive response.
“We enlisted expert advice on remediating the site and the removal of potentially contaminated material.
“Our staff worked with the Department of Environment and Science staff to assist them in their investigation into the burn-off at the Pomona depot in December.”
