Lara incinerator legal challenge fails

A LEGAL bid to overturn environmental approval for a proposed waste-to-energy facility in Lara has been rejected by the state’s planning tribunal.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has ruled the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) acted lawfully when it granted a development licence for the controversial project in December 2023.

The Bisinella Group launched VCAT action against the project’s approval shortly after it was granted in 2023, its case arguing legal errors had been made in handling the application put forward by Prospect Hill International (PHI).

The approval process, Bisinella claimed, was flawed in four ways, including a failure to consider important issues, the green light was given without enough detail for others to properly object, and the approval was too vague to be considered valid.

But in a decision handed down in June, VCAT deputy president Carol Daicic dismissed each of Bisinella’s arguments in turn.

“Ultimately, I have found Bisinella has not satisfied me that EPA’s decision of 6 December 2023 is affected by jurisdictional error,” she said.

“I am not persuaded by Bisinella’s central proposition that, on the balance of probabilities, that either EPA misunderstood its statutory obligations or failed to take into account mandatory relevant considerations.”

She labelled Bisinella’s contention “too simplistic” and “not based in evidence” and suggested it had attempted to “dress up arguments”.

PHI, meanwhile, likened Bisinella’s application to a fancy restaurant that has “duck cooked three ways”, suggesting the grounds forming the basis for its application were based on the same proposition.

It is understood the Bisinella Group will appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, local opposition to the facility, which proposes to incinerate up to 400,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill annually, remains strong.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Lara MP Ella George reaffirmed her opposition to the “reckless” waste-to-energy facility, stating it has “no social licence” and she had yet to meet an individual who supported the project.

“Lara is not the dumping ground for Melbourne’s waste. For years now, the Lara community has been fighting against the big incinerator and I am so proud to stand with them every step of the way,” she said.

“This is not opposition for opposition’s sake. We have serious and legitimate concerns about this project.”

Ms George said the project had been “shrouded in secrecy”, while questions about the potential health and environmental impacts of the facility have remained “unanswered”.

PHI maintains the facility’s potential health impacts would be “low to negligible” and any emissions from exhaust gases would be “well below the relevant standards”.