COBAR Shire Council will contest a fine issued by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) over a fire at its landfill site earlier this year.
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Council was issued with a $1500 penalty notice for failing to deal with materials at the landfill in a proper and efficient manner which the EPA said resulted in air pollution in breach of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act.
It also got an official caution for not immediately notifying the EPA of the incident.
Cobar Shire Council's acting director of planning and environmental services Stephen Poulter said the fire had been the result of an arson attack offsite and the heavy smoke that caused the traffic hazard and prompted complaints from neighbours was made worse by cold weather, which made it lag around the road.
"We informed the EPA about our proposed methods of extinguishment and we weren't at the time advised that they were insufficient," he said.
"Earlier on in the piece we sought advice from the EPA head office and Dubbo office, Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire and Rescue about any best practices that could be used to extinguish the fire earlier.
"We only received clear directions from the EPA about how to extinguish the fire much later on," he said.
Mr Poulter said council agreed improvements were necessary at the landfill site and it had been working with the EPA to develop the improvements, some of which had already been implemented.
"Council is disappointed it was the subject of a media release given it has been in talks with the EPA about the circumstances of this issue," he said.