A Mernda man has been fined $25,000 for illegally dumping chemical drums in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
The EPA investigated and charged Rodney Charles Hallett with three counts of dumping industrial waste after Parks Victoria received pollution reports from the public on 2, 7 and 9 October 2019.
The Ringwood Magistrates’ Court heard the man collected the drums from a cleaning company in Braeside after offering to dispose of them for $435 on an online marketplace.
He promised to take drums to approved chemical waste facility, but instead dumped 21 drums – 13 of which contained unknown liquids – near Mt Dandenong Tourist Road and Churchill Road, Tremont.
Local CFA brigades were called to retrieve the drums from steep mountain country. When Parks Victoria called in specialist contractors to dispose of the drums properly it cost $6,899.
The court, without recording a conviction, ordered the man to pay a fine of $25,000, compensate Parks Victoria for the clean-up and pay the EPA’s legal costs of $6,602.
The penalties of more than $38,000 are 88 times the amount the man charged for the job.
The EPA said members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA’s 24 hour hotline on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or providing details online at www.epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution.
