Logistics company hit with remedial notice after mass fish kill

Victoria’s environmental regulator has slapped a business with a remedial notice after a detergent spill killed thousands of fish in a creek system in Melbourne’s west.

The spill, which happened on March 6, has resulted in Melbourne Water hauling about 13 tonnes of dead fish from Cherry Lake and Cherry Creek at Altona so far.

The Environment Protection Authority says 13 tonnes of dead fish have so far been hauled from the lake and the creek. Credit:Jason South

The Environment Protection Authority named the business at a community forum on Tuesday night as Laverton North company Melbourne Transport and Warehousing.

In a statement on Wednesday, the business said it had spoken with local residents at the community forum “to express its deep concern” following the spill.

It said it became aware of the incident 4½ hours after it happened and had brought in a regulator-approved cleaning company within six hours.

Afterwards, it contacted the EPA among other regulators, and, as a result of its quick action, kept 95 per cent of the chemical “on-site and within its immediate surrounds”.

The company disputed the authority’s previous claims that as much as 13,000 litres of detergent was spilt, saying the figure was 600 litres.

However, it acknowledged the “high eco-toxicity” of the spill, and said it planned to rejuvenate the lake and repopulate the waterway with native fish “as soon as it’s able”.

EPA chief executive Lee Miezis said it hit the logistics company with an environmental action notice, which forced it to put in “immediate stormwater and contamination containment measures”, report daily and have a clean-up plan by Tuesday.

Melbourne Transport and Warehousing said it was complying with that notice.

The EPA issues environmental action notices when an officer believes “there is contamination, pollution and unlawful waste”.

“The discharge has stopped, and [the regulator] is satisfied that any further spills will be trapped and contained to the premises, but the environmental damage has been significant,” Mr Miezis said.

“The worst-affected area is a three-kilometre section of Cherry Creek from the drain outlet to the lake. Our testing so far indicates the impact in Cherry Lake and downstream to the bay is less severe. However, dead fish have washed from upstream as far down as the bay.”

EPA commander Steve Lansdell said last week that the number of dead fish in the creek and lake had climbed into the thousands.

Hobsons Bay City Council called for the business to face tough penalties, and mayor Peter Hemphill labelled the incident an environmental disaster.

The authority previously said fish species killed included carp and eels.

Mr Miezis said the spill caused enormous distress for the local community. He said any remaining chemical in the waterways was expected to break down and the regulator would focus on clean-up, recovery and keeping the community informed over the next couple of weeks.

The EPA has advised people to not eat the dead fish and keep pets away from those that have washed up.

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