Shire continues campaign on industrial waste cylinders

MOORABOOL Shire Council is maintaining its anger on the issue of illegally dumped industrial waste – this time calling for an inquiry into thousands of empty acetylene cylinders left at a property near Bacchus Marsh.

Shire mayor Cr Paul Tatchell said at least 1000 – if not more – cylinders of the same type remained on the property at Merrimu, within its boundaries.

“And there’s probably another 7000 of them floating around Victoria,” Cr Tatchell said.

The Shire had to pay about $500,000 to have empty cylinders contained in two truck trailers removed from the road reserve outside the property about a month ago after the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued a clean-up order.

The municipality’s objection to the order, which it took to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), went unheeded. It also failed at the VCAT hearing to achieve a stay on the order.

Cr Tatchell said he believed the same person is responsible for the Merrimu dumping as well as others around the state.

And he said the State Government should “absolutely” establish an inquiry into the dumping.

“[An inquiry should take place] before someone, private people or a shire, are sent to the wall because of the mismanagement of the EPA, the lack of leadership of the EPA,” Cr Tatchell said.

“Our message to the EPA – who are ignoring us – is that we have done our bit, even though we should never have had to pay to remove the waste the EPA was monitoring for years without action.

“We now fully expect the EPA to act on the waste that is inside the property boundary – they know it’s there and is as dangerous as the waste that was outside the property.”

The EPA has said it will not comment on the issue because it is investigating the dumping.

Cr Tatchell said the property is currently unoccupied.