One of Australia’s largest electricity generators, AGL Macquarie, has been forced to pay more than $1.1 million for polluting a creek near the Bayswater power station.
It’s understood the incident occurred when a hole formed in a pipeline, causing a major fly ash slurry leak into Bayswater creek in September last year.
AGL has entered into an enforceable financial agreement set by the NSW EPA for breaching environmental laws.
Up to $600,000 will be spent on pipeline upgrades in addition to a $500,000 contribution towards environmental projects.
An additional $87,800 will be paid to the EPA for legal and investigative costs.
Adam Gilligan, the EPA Director of Regulatory Operations believes, “this outcome should [also] serve as a reminder to industry that environmental incidents such as this can come at a significant cost, and preventing such incidents makes good business sense.”
The EPA says the company has already taken significant steps to limit the chances of potential leaks in the future.
