EPA Victoria has fined a North Coburg company $3,698 after one of its employees was seen washing a white substance into a stormwater drain.
A community member noticed the employee washing the substance into the gutter. They photographed the incident and reported it to EPA Victoria.
The North Coburg company had been hired to spray an anti-graffiti coating on a nearby mural. The employee was in the process of cleaning off a spray unit but should not have been doing it into the street.
“Tipping any waste down the street and into stormwater drains is not on. It has been against the law for a long time and a fine is clearly warranted. “We estimate about 300 litres of the chemical cleaning substance was tipped down the drain which eventually reaches Kororoit Creek,” said Steve Lansdell EPA Victoria’s West Metro Regional Manager.
EPA Victoria said the company has shown it is not how they would normally operate their business, and have spoken with the employee involved and will improve their staff training.
