In the small New South Wales southern tablelands town of Tarago, residents say they are familiar with two things: the smell of hydrogen sulphide, known as “rotten egg gas”, and the sight of dirty wastewater leaking out the back of trucks.
Around 10km from the town centre sits the Woodlawn eco-precinct, the site of a former mine that has been used by Veolia Environmental Services for waste management and gas-capture landfill for more than 20 years.
The multinational waste company has also lodged an application to develop an advanced energy recovery centre, or ARC. The project would incinerate Sydney’s rubbish at the Woodlawn site, approximately 40km from Goulburn, to create electricity.
Paige Davis is the founder and treasurer of Communities Against The Tarago Incinerator. She lives with her husband, Rod Thiele, the group’s president, and their two children on a 30-acre property, approximately 15km from the gas-capture landfill operated by Veolia.
“We get the stench on a regular basis,” she said. “I have also had my car sprayed by leaking trucks from driving past them on local roads.”
A total of 940 community complaints were recorded between January 2021 and September 2023 on Veolia’s Woodlawn complaints register. Of those complaints, 921 were regarding odour and 19 were for “road traffic” incidents – seven involved reports of leaking shipping containers on public roads.
Davis is among the community members who told the Guardian Australia they do not trust Veolia’s ability to safely operate an ARC due to the company’s history of non-compliance and environmental breaches at its Tarago waste operation. Some described the proposal as “a disaster waiting to happen”.
Last month, the NSW Environment Protection Authority issued Veolia Environmental Services with two fines totalling $30,000 for waste offences following the alleged detection of leachate leaking from shipping containers on to a public road during transport between the company’s Crisps Creek intermodal facility and the Woodlawn landfill site in Tarago.
The August fines stemmed from two separate incidents reported by a community member in November 2022 and EPA officers in March 2023, following reports from the public about leaking containers on four separate occasions earlier in 2022. An EPA investigation found that the containers involved were scheduled for replacement.
Over the past decade, Veolia has been issued with 10 penalty notices and three prevention notices, which requires the recipient to take action. The company also failed to meet its monitoring requirements 89 times between 2002 and September 2022.
The EPA said it is investigating a complaint reported to the regulator on 4 September by a community member who alleged a “steady stream” of liquid was observed leaking from a shipping container in transit. The EPA said it will take appropriate regulatory action should any further breaches be detected.
Veolia said it is not aware of any recent evidence of leaking containers. In response to the September complaint, the Guardian understands that the company could not identify evidence of liquid leakage in the provided photos but took precautionary measures, including removing the container from service and subjecting it to testing for leakages.
The state MP for Goulburn, Wendy Tuckerman, told Guardian Australia the community objection to the proposed ARC “is palpable”, pointing to bumper stickers, posters and signs nailed to fences voicing concerns over the project.
“Their concern is the danger that Veolia has proved that they cannot comply with their current operating conditions and incinerating this waste will be an immeasurable risk,” she said.
“This risk will not just be limited to immediate human health surrounding the project but also to every one of the many agricultural productions surrounding the village and the impact to drinking water, as the development is in the Sydney water catchment area.”
A spokesperson for Veolia said the company takes its compliance obligations seriously.
“We are committed to following the highest standard safety and environmental practices to ensure the health of our workers, the community and environment,” they said.
The ARC proposal is currently being assessed by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, with Veolia in the process of responding to the 627 submissions made last year – consisting of 619 objections, five comments and three that were in support.
If the proposal is successful, Davis said she would most likely fold her apiary business, adding she could not justify selling honey without knowing if it is safe for consumers. It will also mean relocating her family.
In response to community concerns, Veolia said it is proposing an energy recovery facility at its Woodlawn site in Tarago “because it is a proven, safe and environmentally sound technology”. Its website states the technology is similar to conventional coal or gas combustion, where steam is “made from the heat and then used to run a turbine to produce electricity”.
“We understand that people may be unfamiliar with the technology, so we have proven through the impact assessment studies that there will be no impact to people’s health, the environment or farms, including organic farming status,” a Veolia spokesperson said.
The company maintained that “we do have local support”, but the spokesperson said “these supporters are not as vocal as some voices, and we are working hard to address that”.
