A NORTHERN Rivers piggery has been fined $15,000 for breaching a pollution reduction program attached to the conditions of its Environment Protection Licence.
Signium piggery, at Ellangowan near Casino, had been in talks with the NSW Environment Protection Authority from late last year and had been asked to install a stormwater run-off diversion bank, repair a damaged effluent pond wall and submit an external consultant’s report on the completed works.
The EPA said this licence condition was a particularly important environment protection measure as it was designed to address the risk of overflow of the primary effluent pond into a local a waterway.
Brett Nudd, from EPA’s North Branch, said his organisation inspected the piggery in May this year and found it had not fully complied with all required works.
An ineffective soil embankment had been constructed on the southern side of the piggery’s effluent pond and it was evident that the embankment had recently failed, he said.
A report of the works required had also not been submitted.
In a statement, the NSW EPA said penalty notices were one of a number of tools it could use to achieve environmental compliance.
“The EPA takes a range of factors into account before delivering a proportionate regulatory response, including the degree of environmental harm, potential health impacts, compliance history, public interest and best environmental outcomes. In this case, a penalty notice was the appropriate response,” the statement said.