The EPA

Several Victorian regulating organisations assist FPT Foods to regulate its waste disposal, including the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which is responsible for discharges to land, water and air; WorkCover, which controls the handling of dangerous goods such as chemicals; the local water authority; and local government.

Licences and agreements

The first section of FPT Foods' EMS policy states that the company will comply with all relevant laws, codes of practice and regulations in regard to its environmental practices. This means that FPT Foods must comply with all relevant licenses and agreements. Look at some of these at www.epa.vic.gov.au/Publications/Legislation/default.asp.

The EPA is the major regulatory body affecting FPT Foods’ operations. (See the EPA website at www.epa.vic.gov.au.) The EPA is a statutory body established under an Act of the Victorian Parliament in response to community concerns about pollution.

Licence conditions

An EPA licence is required for all activities that may have an environmental impact and imposes certain conditions on what can and cannot be done in terms of noise, wastewater discharge, solid waste discharge (for example, prescribed waste, sludge) and gaseous waste. Licence conditions vary depending on the type of operation, but generally include:

• limits on the discharge of various substances (solid, liquid and gaseous waste)
• monitoring requirements (what must be measured or tested)
• management requirements (what procedures and practices must be put in place to minimise discharges)
• reporting of incidents and monitoring data (information to be passed on to the EPA).

Breaches

Breaching the conditions of a licence is a serious matter and may result in a fine or other penalty, modification of licence conditions or temporary or permanent cancellation of the licence. Individuals may also be fined if found to be negligent in creating an environmental problem. Fines of up to $250,000 apply and jail terms are also being considered.