A Tasmanian business owner has appeared in court for the first time after his company was charged with spilling waste material into the Plenty River, causing a significant fish kill.
In September 2020, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) served Jenkins Hire Pty Ltd — which operates a composting and waste storage facility in Plenty, north of Hobart — with a notice alleging it was responsible for pollutants entering a nearby waterway, killing fish in the river and at nearby properties which draw water from it.
An EPA and Department of Primary Industries (DPIPWE) investigation found pollutants in the river resulted in the deaths of 100,000 brown trout fry, 12,000 rainbow trout fry, 43 brook trout broodstock and 23 display fish at the Salmon Ponds trout hatchery, which is a few kilometres downstream from Jenkins Hire.
In its notice to the company, the EPA also raised concerns that some of the waste material at Jenkins Hire's property had entered the soil, which risked further waste material entering the river during a rain event.
In total, the business — represented in court by owner Timothy Jenkins — is alleged to have committed 11 breaches of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act.
Those charges include polluting the environment intentionally or recklessly, and storing controlled waste in such a manner that it is reasonably likely it will escape into the environment.
The company is also facing allegations it stored controlled waste without authority, and has been using land for the disposal of general waste without authority.
The matter will return to the Hobart Magistrates Court on March 23.
