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Identifying and reporting pollution

The Victorian community has a vital role in protecting the environment.  EPA relies on the community to report incidents of pollution, environmental hazard or other activities potentially harmful to the environment.

What is pollution? What is the environment? What is an environmental hazard?
Pollution is the introduction of substances into water, land or the atmosphere, so that the condition is adversely altered to be:
  • detrimental to its use
or
  • harmful to the health or welfare of humans, plants or animals.
 The environment that EPA strives to protect includes:
  • land, water, atmosphere and climate
  • sound, odours, tastes and aesthetics
  • animals and plants.
 An environmental hazard is a danger to humans or the environment caused by inappropriate storage or handling of toxic, corrosive, flammable, explosive, or infectious substances.

For example, storage of dangerous chemicals or waste products in unsealed containers beside a creek.

EPA sets and enforces standards regulating permissible levels of emission, discharge and deposit to the environment. Causing pollution above these levels constitutes an offence. The ‘What to report’ section below provides examples of the types of emission, discharge or deposit that breach the law and that EPA will investigate. 

Contact your Council if activity on residential premises is causing pollution or unreasonable noise.

 

What to report

Emissions from industry:

  1. Foul-smelling or abnormal emissions.
  2. Offensive or chemical odour.
  3. Objectionable noise affecting you in your home.
  4. Unreasonable dust.

Foul-smelling or abnormal emissions Unreasonable Dust

Any foreign substances entering the water, shown by:

  1. Visible sheen or discolouration of water
  2. Substances being discharged into stormwater drains — for example oil, fuel or paint
  3. Discharge or leak of waste liquids or solids into a watercourse (bypassing a water treatment system)
  4. Multiple fish deaths, indicating environmental stress, which may be caused by a pollutant.

Discharge of waste to creek Fish Deaths

Vehicle offences:

  1. Excessive smoke from a vehicle.
  2. Littering from a vehicle — for example, a food packet, a lit or unlit cigarette butt.

Litter from a vehicle

Waste and chemical offences:

  1. Dumping waste on any premises not licensed for this purpose; dumping includes burying or stockpiling waste and is illegal whether it occurs on public or privately owned land.
  2. Inadequate storage or handling of chemicals or waste.

Dumping waste

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Take Action

Report pollution

Report Litter From a Vehicle

Report a Smokey Vehicle