NSW ski resort cops $230k+ fine for sewage pollution

NSW ski resort cops $230k+ fine for sewage pollution
By James Harrison


The Charlotte Pass Snow Resort has been fined $233,425 after polluting waterways in Kosciuszko National Park with improperly treated sewage.

The fine was given in the Land and Environment Court earlier in the week after Charlotte Pass Snow Resort was prosecuted by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). It was found that between 9 July and 24 September 2019, the ski resort discharged 11.6 million litres of partially treated waste.

The waste was found to contain potentially dangerously high levels of ammonia and nitrogen. This was due to faulty diffusers in the sewage filtration. Excess nitrogen in the environment can cause an overgrowth of aquatic plants and algae, while high concentrations of ammonia can be toxic to aquatic life.

The EPA, which regularly tests water quality levels at Charlotte Pass, discovered the high levels of nitrogen and ammonia in an unnamed stream near the resort. One sample was found to have more than 600 times the ammonia of another sample. This was 15 times the water quality guideline.

Another test was conducted later for the nitrogen levels and found the levels downstream from Charlotte Pass to be eight times higher than upstream.

Tony Chappel, chief executive of the NSW EPA, said Charlotte Pass should have taken more care in its actions.

“Most disappointingly, the offences were foreseeable with the resort having knowledge that the plant and equipment in question needed to be repaired,” Chappel said.

“If you know that your equipment doesn’t meet the standards required, it must be addressed, failure to do so is an unacceptable disregard of the environment.”

Justice Rachel Pepper, who presided on the case, said that biological damage was likely caused to the waterways and that this was worsened by the knowledge held by Charlotte Pass that the diffusers needed to be repaired.

“Whether it was caused by the fouling, or some other defect, it remains a fact that the diffusers were not properly maintained and could not perform their function adequately thereby resulting in the elevated levels of ammonia and nitrogen in the effluent discharged to the environment,” she said in her the judgment.

“It was this discharge that caused both the actual and potential harm discussed above.”

The resort was fined $144,000 plus an additional $89,425.23 for the EPA’s investigation.

The park was also ordered to post notices of the court’s judgement on its Facebook and Instagram pages.

Featured Image: Charlotte Pass Snow Resort (Facebook/@skithepass)

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