Fine for winery waste discharge

A Geelong winery that took the wrong option for dealing with its wastewater has been fined $5,506.

EPA south west regional manager Gavan Mathieson said Jindalee Estate Pty Ltd was fined for discharging winery wastewater into a billabong of the Moorabool River.

Mr Mathieson said in March this year, EPA officers investigated a report of a discharge and discovered a flexi pipe at the rear of the site, which was being used to run winery wastewater down and onto the floodplain of the Moorabool River.

The pipe had broken a couple of times due to build up of grape skins and other waste material.

“Purple water and organic matter was seen discharging from the breaks in the pipe down the roadway and embankment, and into the river. This is clearly not best practice when it comes to waste disposal.

“It appears as if the company recognised there was a degree of risk associated with what they were doing as they checked the pipe twice daily, unfortunately during the Easter holiday period no one thought to check the pipe and some of the waste has ended up in the river.”

Mr Mathieson said the company was required to remove and dispose of the contaminated water from the impacted billabong in the river.

“This incident was unintentional and the company worked to stop the discharge and address the situation at the time, however this must serve as a reminder that they must take all due care and consideration of their environment when dealing with their waste.”

Jindalee Winery Managing Director Vince Littore said “We sincerely regret this accident and believe we acted responsibly and promptly to remedy the problem as soon as we were made aware of it. 

“We have worked diligently with the EPA to ensure there is no long-term environmental impact and that there is no possibility of this occurring in the future.”

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