14 DAY TRIAL // The Environment Planning Authority (EPA) recently accused Metgasco, a mining company, of illegally dumping around one million liters of coal seam gas waste water into a sewage treatment plant at Casino, near Richmond Valley, Australia.
Now, the main purpose of sewage treatment plants is that of receiving wastewater from domestic, commercial and industrial sources and clean it up so that is can be safely returned to our planet's natural waterways.
Thus, it can once again be used in agriculture or to support various industrial processes.
However, there is only so much a water treatment plant can do. If the water contains far too many harmful chemical substances, it has to be dealt with in other ways.
Therefore, when the local population drew attention to the fact that the mining company Metgasco had been dumping waste water into the sewage treatment plant at Casino for well over a year, EPA had no choice but to look into this matter.
As EchoNews reports, John Walker, the general manager of Richmond Valley's Council, explained that, when the said Casino plant first started to accept wastewater from Metgasco, local officials were convinced that it had every right to do so.
It is only recently that they realized that, given the terms of their license agreement, trade waste (i.e. any liquid produced by an industrial activity) is pretty much off limits for this particular sewage treatment plant.
However, both Metgasco and Richmond Valley Council representatives argue that, although the water was indeed improperly disposed of, it contained no substances that could harm the local communities or the environment.
Mr. Walker explains that “We tested the water before we accepted it and found only salty water, with no other contaminants. The EPA found the same thing when they investigated. There was no environmental harm or disruption to the sewage treatment process.”
Presently, the State Government expected to suspend all Metgasco activities in this region, at least until a full investigation is carried out.