Paul Mouawad, the owner of Aussie Earthovers, attended the Land and Environment Court on Friday 23rd November. The charges were bought by the NSW EPA following the dumping of asbestos contaminated fill at 22 Geelans Road, Arcadia. He pleaded not guilty to most charges.
In March the EPA took soil samples at 22 Geelans Rd, Arcadia, and found it to be contaminated with asbestos. They also discovered anomalies in the paperwork relating to the fill that was delivered to the site.
If found guilty, the Court can impose a fine of up to $240,000 or imprisonment for 18 months, or both for supplying false or misleading information.
We understand the NSW Government passed new laws recently creating a new offence for asbestos dumping, attracting the highest level of penalties including infringements of $5 million for a company and $500,000 for an individual.
We will report further once the outcome of the court case is known.
