EPA Victoria has safely excavated and removed all waste from the 32 sites at Lemon Springs, with 25 backfilled with clean soil.

Last night (Wednesday, 21 June), EPA informed a community meeting at the Kaniva Community Hub that it is nearing the final operational stages of the clean-up of the Lemon Springs illegal waste dump, with major activities to be completed shortly.   Nonessential building and equipment is being dismantled and removed from site.

Auditing, monitoring and reporting requirements will continue until the end of this year.

“The Kaniva community has been incredibly supportive of the clean-up project team since we started in 2020 and we appreciate their support and input into such an important project,” EPA Project Manager Julian Bull said.

“The numbers show the breadth of work that has been done, with about 70 EPA and Enviropacific staff involved in removing more than 1,650 tonnes of liquid waste and 13,500 tonnes of contaminated soil after more than 40,000 tonnes of contaminated soil was discovered.”

“Excavation of acetylene cylinders is complete with 51,500 cylinders discovered and more than 40,000 cylinders safely transported to the Stawell site so far. It’s great to be able to process these cylinders in such a safe way, with this new site the first of its kind in Australia.”

“This has been the largest project of its kind in the country and despite the complexities and logistical challenges, it has been conducted without incident. All risks were managed and safety maintained for the project staff and the community.”

View our latest progress video at: 

Lemon Springs May 2023 Update  

Staying informed

EPA’s website is the best place to visit to stay up to date –  www.epa.vic.gov.au/lemonsprings

For further information and feedback:

Reviewed 19 September 2023