A Sydney man has been convicted and fined $189,000 for the transport of almost 1400 trucks loads of construction waste, including asbestos, to a premises he managed in Arcadia, a semi-rural suburb in northern Sydney.
Paul Mouawad (also known as Boulos Isaac) pleaded guilty to two charges in the Land and Environment Court for the transport of waste and resulting land pollution at the Arcadia site over approximately seven months in 2017.
NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Executive Director Carmen Dwyer said investigations at the site revealed the soil was contaminated with asbestos materials and other construction waste.
“Around 20,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were disposed of at the site creating potential harm to the community and the environment,” Mrs Dwyer said.
“The severe punishment issued here is what operators can expect if they operate illegal landfills or don’t dispose of waste legally and responsibly.
“We will continue to pursue those who try to cheat the system and have little regard for the environment, particularly in relation to asbestos waste which has the serious potential to cause issues to human health.”
Justice Pritchard, in her judgment, found that Mr Mouawad acted recklessly, and the defendant showed no expression of remorse for his offending. She found that the placement of the fill at the premises has caused substantial environmental damage, with the waste coming from eight different source sites across Sydney.
“There was a significant level of organisation, planning and preparation for the offences by the defendant and that he showed no expression of remorse for his offending,” Her Honour said.
Justice Pritchard also found that Mr Mouawad’s principal reason for committing the offences was financial gain, and that it was foreseeable that depositing approximately 1,399 truckloads of fill excavated from urban demolition sites at the premises had the potential to cause environmental harm.
Mr Mouawad was also ordered to pay the EPA’s investigation costs of $33,647 and the EPA’s legal costs as agreed or assessed.
The landowner has separately been issued with a clean-up notice in respect of the premises and has until December 2023 to remediate the site. The EPA will continue to monitor compliance.
The EPA encourages the community to report illegal dumping incidents to the Environment Line on 131 555.
For more information about the EPA’s regulatory tools, see the EPA Compliance Policy at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/legislation/prosguid.htm
