By Esther Lauaki
A Plumpton property owner has been fined and ordered by the County Court to undertake a clean-up of industrial waste at his property.
The court convicted Mendo Kitanovski of failing to comply with two clean-up notices from Environment Protection Authority Victoria in 2013.
The case reached its conclusion when Kitanovski pled guilty to the charges in December, 2017, and was sentenced earlier this month. He was fined $3500 and ordered to clean-up his property to remove a substantial amount of industrial waste that had been deposited at his premises, which was not licensed to receive it.
EPA executive director Lara Jimenez said it had been a complex and long-running case.
“This is a good outcome,” Ms Jimenez said. “It upholds EPA’s original requirement that
Mr Kitanovski clean up the property, and while the fine may be comparatively small, the cost of dealing with the dumped waste may be considerable.
“As with any case, EPA’s primary objective has been to have the site cleaned up, for the protection of the community and the environment.
“This is a reminder to anyone who is issued with an official clean-up notice or pollution abatement notice by EPA that those notices are to be taken seriously and there are serious consequences for those who don’t comply.”
Between 2012 and 2013, the EPA found large piles of soil, industrial waste, tile, piping, asphalt and plastic on Mr Kitanovski’s property.
Officers observed 30 large trucks enter and leave the property in a single day during that time.
