Werribee’s Wests Road landfill has breached the conditions of its licence six times in the past year, according to an independent audit, prompting questions about whether Wyndham council should be allowed to expand the site.
The audit, provided to the Environment Protection Authority, examined the landfill’s operation between July, 2012, and June, 2013.
It found groundwater contamination, litter outside the tip’s boundary and instances in which emissions from the landfill exceeded recommended levels.
The audit also found licence conditions were breached when the council failed to cover waste with soil 30 centimetres or thicker at the end of the day, had accepted prohibited waste and did not rehabilitate the site in accordance with best practice.
Opponents of the council’s plans to expand an area named ‘cell 4c’ to 25 metres above ground say the breaches show the cell should not be built above ground level at all.
Western Region Environment Centre director Harry van Moorst said while he accepted that the licence would occasionally be breached, and that the council had acted to solve problems, he couldn’t accept the council increasing the likelihood of breaches by expanding the tip.
“Landfills always pose a risk – when you turn a landfill into a mountain, you significantly increase the risks,” he said.
But council chief executive Kerry Thompson denied the audit proved expansion plans would increase the risk to community.
“In the event that the EPA had concerns, Wyndham City would be issued with an enforcement notice and this has never occurred,” she said.
Ms Thompson said the audit had found that litter had only been found outside the tip’s boundary on windy days and was likely to have come from an uncovered residential trailerload on Wests Road.
She said the council had made repairs to the tip’s gas-extraction system to reduce emissions and was testing groundwater monitoring networks to prevent future contamination.
