The waste oil refinery Truegrain in Rutherford has pleaded guilty to breaching a condition of its environment protection licence and could face a $1 million fine for its role in the long-running Rutherford stink saga.
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The company’s guilty plea came in the Land and Environment Court in Sydney on Wednesday following a charge from the Environment Protection Authority.
The company will learn its fate on July 28 at a penalty hearing, when the Land and Environment Court decides the punishment it will decree.
The company’s guilty plea means it acknowledged that it had not been carrying out its activities in a competent manner.
The court case was a climactic moment in a saga that has haunted Rutherford residents for many years. Dozens of local people have complained over that time for action to stop the pollution and nauseating smells that sometimes hung over the streets for hours.
The EPA said it was also investigating Truegrain following “an odour incident” on June 5 this year at the Spotlight retail outlet in Rutherford.
A spokesperson for the EPA told The Mercury yesterday: “Truegrain pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching a condition of its environmental protection licence which required it to carry out activities in a competent manner.
“It is alleged that Truegrain failed to properly store certain waste liquids at its premises from an environmental perspective.
“The environmental impact of the incident and any pollution that arose is a matter for the court to determine at the penalty hearing set down for July 28.
“The maximum penalty the Land and Environment Court can impose is is $1 million - and in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $120,000 for each day the offence continues.”
Ramona Cocco, a member of the Rutherford Air Quality Liaison Committee, said: “After all these long investigations, this guilty plea by Truegrain has been a good result for the people of Rutherford.
“It would be nice to see the EPA being more transparent to the public in future too.
“Personally, as a member of the community, I feel there are really no winners in this type of situation – but people must do the right thing.”
The doors of Truegrain were locked yesterday, but a company employee said he would contact the manager and ask him to ring The Mercury.
No call was received.
