He dumped, ‘you pay’

Kim Waters
A GEELONG demolition company director must pay more than $70,000 in fines for dumping and abandoning 15 tonnes of asbestos in Moolap, a magistrate has ruled.
But Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard taxpayers would foot the clean-up bill of almost $2 million because McCormack Demolitions had gone bust.
The company’s former director, Casey McCormack, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to dumping the asbestos and 15 piles of industrial waste 35 metres wide and 15 high on land his company had leased in Point Henry Road, Moolap.
Magistrate Michael Coghlan convicted and fined McCormack $50,200 and his failed company a further $35,200.
Mr Coghlan said it would be “farcical” to order McCormack to clean up the site on Point Henry Road since he was bankrupt.
“I would love to think that the person who caused this environmental mess would be responsible for cleaning it up and meeting those costs but I think it’s very clear that kind of order would not be complied with.
“You’ve left a large amount of waste that is likely to cost taxpayers a significant amount of money to deal with. You’ve created that problem for every taxpayer in the area.”
Mr Coghlan suggested EPA request a change in legislation so the court had power to impose terms of imprisonment for “similar” cases in the future.
EPA prosecutor Henry Jackson said cleaning up the asbestos and industrial waste would cost about $1.9 million.
Mr Jackson told the court of evidence the land was “clean” when McCormack took over the lease in 2006.
“In 2007 an agent wrote to Mr McCormack to say there was a considerable amount of waste that needed to be removed and in 2009 the landlord’s agent wrote to City of Greater Geelong about asbestos on the land.”
Mr Jackson said EPA officers issued a clean up notice in April, 2009, “primarily” about the “very large piles” of asbestos sheeting.
McCormack had initially taken some steps to comply with the notice before abandoning the waste in 2009, Mr Jackson said.
McCormack was also ordered to publish notices in Geelong and Melbourne newspapers saying he had pleaded guilty to the EPA charges and detailing the court proceedings.