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Construction waste illegally buried on Darwin harbour's foreshore
22/05/2019
Source: ABC News
Thousands of cubic metres of construction waste was illegally buried on Darwin harbour's foreshore, including some which was allegedly dumped on neighbouring government land — the proposed site of the water theme park — the Northern Territory's Environmental Protection Authority (NTEPA) has claimed.
The NTEPA laid charges of intentionally polluting the environment causing serious environmental harm against company DWD Project Pty Ltd and its company director, Darwin businessman Michael Anthony, after a year-long investigation.
Mr Anthony also revealed to the ABC that he was one of seven developers who had submitted expressions of interest to the NT Government to build the water park.
He said he would withdraw his $130 million proposal to develop the water park as a result of the NTEPA's charges.
"The disposal and burial of these wastes raised the levels of the land, covered foreshore habitat, and filled a large area of Darwin Harbour with wastes and contaminants," the NTEPA said in a statement.
If found guilty, Mr Anthony could be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and up to five years' imprisonment.
The company DWD Project could also be facing a maximum financial penalty of almost $3 million.
A pollution abatement notice was issued in October last year concerning the same alleged breach.
Satellite images published by the NTEPA as part of last year's abatement notice show that the alleged dumping altered the shoreline of the property, and that "significant land reclamation had occurred as a result of the deposition of waste and contaminants".
It was alerted by a public report to the NTEPA hotline in April last year.
The NTEPA said the waste remains in place.
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