A SERPENTINE-JARRAHDALE composting company has been issued a ‘draft decision’ to revoke its license after it was the centre of serious water contamination concerns in Parliament last year.
Bio-Organics Pty Ltd was issued the draft decision last week by the Department of Environment Regulation (DER), which the company has been given 10 days to respond to.
Once the response is received, DER’s acting chief executive officer will then make a decision about whether or not to revoke the license.
“If the decision were made to revoke the licence, a closure notice would be served on the company,” a DER spokesperson said.
“This enables DER to manage the environmental implications of the materials on the site during the closure period.
“Such a notice would require the company to continue managing, reporting and auditing its operations, under the provisions of the closure notice.”
Shadow Minister for Environment Chris Tallentire first raised the issue in Parliament in October last year, where he said the unknown liquid waste processed by Bio-Organics produced “sewerage-type smells that are so acute that people are woken up in the middle of the night”.
Mr Tallentire said it was possible the material could enter the Serpentine River and contaminate the Peel Harvey Estuary.
The Department of Environment and Regulation (DER) said at the time the company followed the Environmental Protection Authority’s recommendation of a separation distance of 150 metres, however the Department of Health's boundary regulation from the river is 1000m.
It is still not known what liquid waste has been used on the site and DER said the information will not be released by the government department after the draft decision had been settled.
Bio-Organics is currently in a legal battle with the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, with a three-day trial set for November this year.
“Our court case relates to the lack of planning approval for the site, however we share the concerns of our residents regarding environmental and health impacts the operations may have for this Shire,” Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale chief executive officer Richard Gorbunow said.
“The Shire cannot comment extensively due to current legal proceedings, but for those residents with questions or concerns, please contact the Department of Environment and Regulation as the licensing authority.”
