Community gathers to discuss million-dollar Veolia payout

Nearly 70 people registered to join a community conference held on Saturday (9 May) to discuss how a million-dollar restorative justice payment by Veolia Pty Ltd should be spent.

The court-ordered payment was awarded as community compensation for breaches of Victoria’s general environmental duty which has had severe impacts on the lives of the local community.

On Saturday, community members and representatives gathered at the Lynbrook Community Centre to share their experience of the impacts from the Hallam Road landfill. They discussed ideas for projects that could be considered for funding under EPA’s Hallam Road Landfill restorative project.

The money can be used to fund one or more projects that can be delivered with the available funding.

“It was great to see people take time out of their Saturday afternoon to come together and talk about how they could use this money for a community benefit,” said EPA CEO Joss Crawford.

“Many who attended had been directly affected by the issues caused by Veolia’s landfill.”

Ideas discussed on the day included projects that could either be completed as one or potentially seed the way for future project ideas.

“The rules around how restorative justice funding can be spent are strict, but we will continue to consult with community to determine what ideas should be prioritised and get the maximum community benefit from the Veolia payment,” said EPA South Metropolitan Regional Manager Viranga Abeywickrema.

The Supreme Court ordered the company to publish the details of its offences and the penalty on their website, in addition to a media release on the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association website.

In addition to the payment of $1 million into EPA’s restorative justice project account, the company agreed to contribute $75,000 towards EPA’s legal costs and to undertake certain activities to improve regulatory compliance at the Hallam Road Landfill.

Anyone interested in making a proposal should download the form from the EPA website(opens in a new window). Questions can be directed to restorative@epa.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window).

For more information about the Hallam Road Landfill restorative project, visit https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/hallam-road-landfill-restorative-project(opens in a new window)