Appeal for tip ruling

THE operator of the Lyndhurst tip has filed the first part of an appeals process against a tribunal’s declaration it was accepting unpermitted hazardous waste.
SITA, which owns the Lyndhurst landfill, has filed an application for leave to appeal the declaration made in July by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
The VCAT declaration said certain wastes accepted by the landfill were hazardous and that under two council permits issued by the former Shire of Cranbourne in 1990 and 1992 the tip was not permitted to accept hazardous waste.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA), which issued SITA’s licence allowing it to accept materials such as mercury, lead and cadmium at Lyndhurst, said last month some of the arguments leading to the declaration were ‘questionable’ .
The leave to appeal hearing will take place in the Supreme Court in Melbourne on 25 August and will see SITA put forward its reasons for appeal.
If satisfied, the Supreme Court will allow the appeal to commence.
A knock-back could see Greater Dandenong council proceed with an enforcement order to stop the hazardous waste being dumped at Lyndhurst.
Mark Dreyfus QC, who is representing the City of Greater Dandenong in the court battle, said the lengthy processes involved in appeals and enforcement orders meant it would be some time before the dispute was resolved.