A truck driver has been charged after allegedly illegally dumping tonnes of asbestos at a property in East Kurrajong. About 10:30am yesterday (Tuesday 4 June 2013), Hawkesbury Highway Patrol officers were performing stationary heavy vehicle inspections on Wilberforce Road, Wilberforce, when a truck attempted to avoid the inspection station. The officers were performing duties as part of Operation Austrans, a heavy vehicle enforcement operation, when the Volvo tipper truck pulled into a nearby caravan park. The driver, a 60-year-old Guildford man, was stopped and spoken to, with police conducting inspections of his truck. The truck was subsequently defected and grounded after police allegedly found it in an unroadworthy condition with several bald tyres and major oil leaks. Police will allege the driver had failed to carry or record any entries in a national work diary and was not authorised to drive in NSW after having his driving privileges withdrawn in April 2013. While inspecting the truck police also allegedly found evidence it had been used in the transportation of asbestos. Subsequent investigations led police, with the assistance of Hawkesbury City Council and the NSW Environment Protection Authority, to a private property in East Kurrajong where they discovered up to ten tonnes of asbestos contaminated building waste had been illegally dumped. Hawkesbury City Council Compliance officers have issued a verbal clean up direction which will be confirmed in writing with a $5000 fine and clean-up directions under the Protection of Environment and Operations Act. The man will then have seven days to remove the contaminated building waste and dispose of it by lawful means. The man will be issued a court attendance notice by police for work diary offences and the possession of number plates without authority. He is expected to appear in Windsor Local Court on Wednesday 17 July 2013. Anyone with information about the illegal dumping of waste can report incidents to their local council, the Environment Line on 131 555 or NSW Police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Members of the public, corporations and business owners are warned the illegal dumping of waste carries fines between $750 and $1,000,000 and imprisonment of up to 7 years.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:46:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015