Lake Macquarie environment and community groups have applauded the Environment Protection Authority's decision to prosecute the owners of Vales Point power station over a fish kill last year.
The incident, the second of two fish kills that occurred within six weeks, resulted in the deaths of thousands of marine creatures around Mannering Park. They included mullet, bream, bat fish, whiting and a white spotted eagle ray.
The EPA has alleged that Sunset Power International Pty Ltd trading as Delta Electricity failed to maintain its chlorine dosing plant in a proper and efficient condition. This resulted in a faulty valve that caused a discharge of concentrated sodium hypochlorite into waters leading to Wyee Bay.
Keep Lake Macquarie Clean Group member Bruce Macfarlane said residents had witnessed the gradual degradation of the lake's seagrass beds, which had corresponded to an increase in industrial activity around the late.
"It's not before time that companies that flout environmental licence conditions are called to account by the EPA," he said.
NSW EPA Chief Executive, Tony Chappel said the prosecution followed a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
"Alongside the community, we expect Delta to meet high standards given the proximity of the Vales Point Power Station to Lake Macquarie," he said.
"Our investigation found that Delta could have prevented the fish kill if they had adequate equipment and processes in place."
Hunter Community Environment Centre spokeswoman Johanna Lynch said the EPA prosecution validated long-running concerns held by many residents of southern Lake Macquarie about Vales Point power station.
"Community members who saw for themselves the severity of this unacceptable oversight can be assured that Delta Electricity will be subject to the legal scrutiny they have earned through complacency and a failure to maintain equipment which led to the regrettable and entirely preventable loss of marine life in the estuary that is the lifeblood of the community," she said.
Environmental Justice Australia lawyer Jocelyn McGarity said it was pleasing to see the EPA using its regulatory powers to protect the community and the lake's marine life.
"Residents were left devastated by the September (2022) fish kill.The community wants genuine accountability and for the prosecution to lead to meaningful local change, such as restoring the Lake's health from decades of coal pollution and replenishing fish stocks," she said.
"We applaud this tougher approach by the EPA and hope it results in tangible outcomes for the community and environment."
A Delta Electricity spokesman told the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday that the company had not received a copy of the allegations.
"Delta takes these allegations seriously and will consider its response once the details are properly provided by the EPA. As the matter appears to now be before the courts it is also inappropriate for Delta to comment further at this time," he said.
