The Environment Protection Authority has given Wyndham council until next year to reduce gas emissions and the levels of liquid leaching from its Werribee landfill.
The authority issued the council with two pollution abatement notices in June in relation to pollution of groundwater and elevated landfill gas surface emissions at the Wests Road site.
Should the council fail to comply, it faces fines of up to $300,000 for each offence and $150,000 for each day the breaches continue.
Western Region Environment Centre director Harry van Moorst said he was still concerned by conditions at the tip.
“Council has clearly broken the rules and the EPA has been far too generous in giving it such a lengthy period to comply,” he said.
The council’s chief executive, Kerry Thompson, said it was working to comply with the EPA’s requirements.
“Council’s own monitoring . . . identified that the levels of leachate and landfill gas [methane] emissions were above EPA requirements,”she said.
“Council reported this to the EPA and two Pollution Abatement Notices were issued. Council has until January 30, 2015 to be compliant . . . and we anticipate work to be completed well before the deadline.”
EPA spokesman Terry Sefton confirmed the council was meeting the conditions attached to the notices.
