By ALESHA CAPONE
MORE than 200 complaints about bad odours emitted by Brooklyn’s industrial precinct have been lodged with the Environment Protection Authority across four months.
From July to October this year the EPA received hundreds of complaints about foul smells coming from the area.
The figure was revealed at the latest meeting of the Brooklyn Community Representative Group Community Forum (BCRG) which meets every few months for residents to discuss air quality issues with industry and government.
At the meeting the EPA also revealed its odour monitoring has confirmed the major source of unpleasant stenches in Brooklyn is Australian Tallow in Geelong Rd.
However the EPA said their monitoring has “identified three other potential minor sources” of odour, Brooklyn Meats, Australian Skin and Hide and Transpacific Waste Management (Brooklyn Landfill).
The EPA said they conducted several compliance inspections at Australian Tallow from August.
“Odours have been confirmed and traced to the premises on multiple occasions,” the BCRG meeting notes
“Since July of this year the site appears to have regressed somewhat in in addressing odour issues at the site.”
On 8 November the EPA sent Australian Tallow a letter “to show cause as to why EPA should not
suspend its licence” with 14 days to respond.
The EPA said there were also 28 days in Brooklyn with “potential poor air quality” between July and October
“EPA surveillance indicates that some operators are not operating dust controls on high risk days
unless they see an EPA marked vehicle,” the BCRG meeting notes said.
The EPA listed almost 20 Brooklyn businesses which have been observed emitting dust and will be required to make improvements to reduce this in the future.
The EPA’s Victorian metropolitan manager Richard Marks said businesses which are found to be emitting offensive odours or too much dust could be taken to court.
Since 2000, the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria has fined almost 70 offenders from across the state more than $3.5 million.
“We’ve made some progress in improving dust volumes generated from the Brooklyn industrial precinct, but operators need to remember to maintain their dust controls so impacts on local residents continue to decrease,” Mr Marks said.
