Macedon Ranges Shire Council has been fined almost $8000 by the Environment Protection Authority for failing to reduce excessive leachate levels from its closed landfill in Lancefield.
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The council were warned about leachate – liquid which leaches from landfill and may contain harmful substances and elevated concentrations of materials – exceeding the legal level at both its closed Lancefield and Kyneton landfills, according to the EPA.
Reports on the Lancefield site found leachate had exceeded the legal level since January 2017 and council had not completed extraction since May 2017.
EPA North West Regional Manager Scott Pigdon said leachate occurred near Deep Creek and had the potential to affect groundwater.
“There are several groundwater bores in use down from the site, so we want this issue addressed as soon as possible,” he said.
The Lancefield Landfill is managed by an EPA Post-Closure Pollution Abatement Notice.
Under the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Infringements Act 2008, Macedon Ranges Shire Council has the right to have the $7929 fine reviewed or have the matter determined by a court.
The public is urged to report environmental concerns to the EPA’s 24-hour pollution hotline 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).
