Mayor says EPA monitored toxic waste dumping for years, failed to protect residents

Australia Broadcast Center

17-07-2025

A Victorian mayor who discovered that authorities were aware that toxic waste had been dumped outside a property near Bacchus Marsh says the state government has "absolutely no care for the safety of its people".
Moorabool Shire Council lost a battle at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) against the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on Wednesday.
As a result the council has been ordered to clean up 20 pallets of dissolved acetylene cylinders, which are highly flammable and filled with asbestos.
Moorabool Shire Mayor Paul Tatchell alleged the cylinders were moved from a property in Merrimu, near Bacchus Marsh, onto council land.
He also alleged the EPA monitored the property for two years and watched on as the cylinders were dumped beside a public road.
Cr Tatchell says it is "disgraceful" that ratepayers must foot an expected $500,000 bill to clean up the waste, which can only be processed at one site in Victoria.
"At the end of the day we're there to protect our residents and we're going to get a bill for about half a million bucks, plus legal costs, for something the EPA knew all about and watched happen," he said.
"They waited until these trailers were removed off this property and then put the order on us … to clean it up because the perpetrator was bankrupt.
"[We either] have a gutless minister that won't stand in and protect the people, or an EPA … that is more interested in protecting the minister."
Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos has been contacted for comment.
The VCAT hearing heard the EPA had cameras set up at the address to monitor movement of the material but did not intervene.
VCAT found that the footage was not monitored in real time and so would "simply provide information about what had happened rather than providing a realistic opportunity for intervention".
In an affidavit to VCAT, Moorabool Shire chief executive Derek Madden said the community was being forced to pay for "the EPA's failure to manage a site under its knowledge and oversight".
Cr Tatchell said the dumping of acetylene cylinders had been a problem for years throughout the state.
"This is when they used to dispose of acetylene with asbestos … those cylinders can never be refilled by the people who manage the products," he said.
Cr Tatchell believed whoever dumped the cylinders at Merrimu did so without the property owner's knowledge.
"The EPA definitely knows [who it is], but they just haven't given it to us," he said.
"There are still thousands of these acetylene tanks floating around Victoria on people's properties.
"I've got absolutely no doubt that the EPA knows where they are and are just going to do the same thing all over the Victoria."
The EPA said "as a result of VCAT's ruling, EPA's decision requiring council to clear the waste remains in force".
"The matter is continuing in VCAT as the final hearing is not until later this year," it said in a statement.
"EPA's investigation into the illegal dumping is ongoing so further comment cannot be made."
The Victorian government said it was working with local governments to crack down on illegal dumping.
"We know illegal dumping of waste has an impact on local communities and environment — that's why we have given the EPA greater powers to crack down on offenders, including tougher penalties for repeat offenders," a spokesperson said.
"The EPA is working with local governments across the state, along with industry and community, to address this issue as part of its Illegal Waste Disposal Program, which aims to disrupt systematic illegal waste disposal."