The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued Wollongong Resources Pty Ltd two fines totalling $38,000 after coal material was allegedly discharged from their Russell Vale Colliery site and the company allegedly failed to report the incident.
During heavy rain in April around 30 tonnes of coal was discharged from the premises, impacting private properties downstream of the site. The EPA's investigation found that Wollongong Resources breached their licence after failing to maintain drains and stormwater controls on their premises.
NSW EPA Director Operations, Adam Gilligan, said it’s disappointing the licensee didn’t have the necessary maintenance programs in place to prevent the incident.
“Wollongong Resources was not properly maintaining their stormwater systems, causing blockages,” Mr Gilligan said.
“This contributed to large volumes of stormwater leaving the site, picking up coal material from unsealed roads, which flowed into residential streets and yards.
“It’s unacceptable Wollongong Resources failed to have efficient systems in place and even more concerning that they failed to report the incident.
“It’s critical that communities are able to recover as soon as possible following weather events, and the company’s failure to report the incident immediately caused the clean-up to be delayed.
“All licensees are expected to comply with their licence conditions and operate within the law. If they fail to do so, we’ll take regulatory action and ensure steps are taken to prevent future similar incidents.”
Russell Vale Colliery has not been operating since 18 January 2024.
The EPA oversaw the clean-up of affected areas and added new conditions to the company’s licence requiring an evaluation and upgrades to storm water infrastructure. The clean-up has now been completed and the EPA is satisfied that there are no ongoing impacts to the environment.
We encourage the community to report pollution and environmental incidents to the NSW EPA Environment Line on 131 555 or info@epa.nsw.gov.au.
Contact details:
EPA MEDIA | TESS GIBNEY | 0456 053 522
24-hour Media Line (02) 9995 6415 media@epa.nsw.gov.au
