Illegal dumping cleanup order before VCAT
Published on 08 July 2025
Who should pay for cleanup of the illegal dumping of harmful industrial waste?
That’s the question being posed by Moorabool Shire Council when it attends the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) tomorrow for a hearing against the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Council has been ordered by the EPA to clean up containers of industrial waste abandoned on a Crown road reserve managed on behalf of the state by Council. The likely cost of disposing of this waste safely to Council and ratepayers is estimated to be $500,000.
Moorabool Shire Council Mayor Cr Paul Tatchell said the EPA had been monitoring these container loads full of harmful industrial waste since at least late 2024.
“Council has some unanswered questions even on the eve of going to VCAT.
“Why didn’t the EPA issue a disposal order against the landowner?
“We are now aware more material was stored on site – where has that gone?
“How did the industrial waste suddenly turn up on a Crown road reserve while the EPA were monitoring the situation?
“As a result of EPA inaction, they are now claiming the waste is now the responsibility of Moorabool ratepayers to remove and dispose of safety at a cost of half a million dollars.
“In our view this is patently unfair and is an unreasonable cost to ratepayers.
“The EPA is punching down onto councils when it should be their responsibility as they were monitoring this situation for many months without Council’s knowledge. We’ve had enough of this sort of cost shifting from state government to local councils.”
Cr Tatchell had a strong message for other Victorian councils on this issue.
“All councils should be watching this case – anyone in Victoria who is under scrutiny from the EPA can move their industrial waste to council-owned or managed land and avoid having to pay to clean it up.”
Moorabool Shire Council vs the EPA is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at VCAT at 10am tomorrow.
Council is currently running a public awareness campaign targeting illegal dumping in the shire, particularly by builders and contractors coming into the area for work. For more information, visit moorabool.vic.gov.au/illegal-dumping