THE Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) has been fined $50,000 by the Department of Environment Regulation (DER) after it was found in breach of the Environmental Protection Act.
The fine was in response to an odour surrounding the Canning Vale site that was deemed unreasonable in March 2012 and contravened section 49(5)(a) of the act.
The SMRC is one of five regional councils in Perth and encompasses the Cities of Cockburn, Fremantle, Melville, Kwinana and Town of East Fremantle, diverting waste from landfill to process, and recover recyclables for reusing.
SMRC Chairman Cameron Schuster said between March 2012 and March 2016, two odour complaints had been received each month.
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“Of these odour complaints, none were verified by DER as emanating from the (site),” he said.
He said from 2006 until March 2012, the SMRC has spent around $10 million on odour emission reduction equipment and expert odour consultancy services to improve odour management.