Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria officers have inspected ten industrial sites around Cowes in search of threats to local waterways.
Inspections are part of a statewide program to resolve problems before they cause a spill or let chemicals into stormwater drains, creeks and rivers.
More than 100 sites have been inspected across Victoria so far.
Jessica Bandiera, EPA Gippsland Regional Manager, said businesses around Cowes were co-operative and most of the issues found could be fixed easily.
The team gave compliance advice to nine businesses and will conduct follow-up inspections at some of the sites. Four remedial notices were also issued, each one is an instruction from EPA to take specific actions to fix a problem.
The inspections target sites that can cause a spill including concrete batching plants to chemical distributors, businesses offering vehicle and machinery servicing/repairs, chemical handling and other industrial activities.
Inspectors are on the lookout for the lack of a surrounding barrier that stops any spill from reaching a drain or leaving the property, lack of proper storage, handling, and management systems for liquids, inappropriate storage/handling of waste that might burn, such as tyres and timber, wastewater and wash water escaping to stormwater drains, and a lack of spill kits containing materials and equipment needed to contain a spill.
Bandiera said it is everyone’s responsibility to act in preventing pollution.
“Stormwater drains empty into local waterways such as creeks and rivers, so it’s important that businesses know their responsibility to take all reasonable actions to prevent pollution,” she said.
For more information, visit www.epa.vic.gov.au
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