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An Ipswich waste operator has been fined $600,000 over an odor that disturbed nearby residents.
The Queensland Department of Environment launched an investigation after receiving reports of a “rotten egg gas” smell on several occasions following extreme rainfall in February 2022.
After charges were laid, the company pleaded guilty to seven offenses of breaching a condition of an environmental authority.
Ipswich Magistrates’ Court found that the waste operator had failed to take reasonable and practicable measures to prevent the smell and that it had committed other breaches, including pumping contaminated water around its site.
The waste operator was fined $600,000, the highest penalty ever imposed for an environmental odor violation.
This sets a new precedent in Queensland.
“The impact this operator had on the community was simply unacceptable and I want to thank the many residents who reported a foul odor and provided statements as part of our investigation,” said Southeast Division of Industry Development and Compliance Executive Director Brad Wirth .
“We take our role as an environmental regulator seriously and will continue to take strong enforcement action, including legal action, against operators who fail to meet their environmental obligations.”
Of the $600,000 penalty, $212,000 will fund community projects in Ipswich, $190,000 will go to Ipswich City Council and $22,000 will fund free environmental education activities.
“This result is another step in the right direction to improve conditions for the local community in Ipswich and we are pleased to see some of the penalty being returned directly to that community through a community benefit order,” Wirth said.
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