NORRIS, John

Charges:

1. Did dump industrial waste at Nintingbool from 29.03.2021 to 18.08.2021, contrary to s.27A(2).

2. Failed to comply with Environmental Action Notice at Nintingbool on 30.08.2021, contrary to s.290(1).

The accused in this matter was the lease holder of land at 2 Millar Court Nintingbool Victoria. It is a residential property and is not licensed to accept or store industrial waste. He operates a business named Transformer Bin Hire (TBH) which is based in Geelong.

On 27 October 2020, as a result of reports from the Golden Plains Shire, EPA officers attended 2 Millar Court Nintingbool Victoria (the site) and spoke with the accused. Upon observing industrial waste on site EPA issued the accused an official warning.

With input from the Golden Plains Shire, the EPA investigation uncovered the operation of a large transfer recycling station. Despite the official warning the operation continued. An Environmental Action Notice was served requiring the operation to cease and a clean up be completed. The notice was ignored.

The following is uncharged but was read to the court:
EPA reattended the site on 3 September after reports that waste was being moved offsite onto the adjoining land. There was no person present but there were many vehicles and trucks, and still a lot of waste as described. The EPA officers observed fire scars and piles of ash containing remnants of waste indicating that waste had been burnt. There was a very large stockpile of waste (photographed) 19m x 16m x 2m containing mixed waste. It appeared ready to be burnt and so the EPA served a prohibition notice on the accused with the one condition: “You must not allow waste to be burnt at the premises”

That night, 3 September at 11.30pm the waste stockpile was set alight (the accused’s stepbrother Josh Kostecki has been charged with lighting the fire). The accused is not charged with lighting the fire however it is alleged that the fire was his means of clearing the waste without having to pay landfill levies.

Note: the accused was not charged with contravening the prohibition notice because there was no evidence that he received the prohibition notice before the fire was lit.