Gympie council hit with environment protection order over Mary River run-off

The Gympie council faces allegations of “recurring” breaches of environmental rules that risk harming the Mary River, and of failing to assess toxicity in the river for the past decade.

Gympie Regional Council (CEO Robert Jennings pictured) has been accused of breaching environmental rules amid claims it was releasing a higher amount of wastewater and sewage into the iconic Mary River than was allowed.

Gympie Regional Council has been put on notice by the state government amid allegations it has committed “recurring” breaches of environmental rules and risked harming the Mary River.

The Environment Department issued a protection order to the council in February, 2024, accusing it of failing to comply with environmental authority covering its sewage treatment plant operations at Widgee Crossing Rd.

A copy of the EPO, sent to council chief executive Robert Jennings, amended on March 25 and published online, claims the council failed to comply in three areas.

The council has been contacted for response.

The first allegation is that the council released more effluent and wastewater than it was allowed on dry weather days across a year-long period from 2022-2023.

Under the authority the maximum amount of effluent to be released is 4.3ML.

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The Department of Environment has alleged Gympie council has breached three requirements of the authority under which the city’s sewage treatment plant works, including allegations it released excessive effluent from the plant to the environment on dry weather on more than 100 days within a year-long period from 2022-2023.

The document says the council exceeded this on more than 100 days during this period.

The order says the extent of the council’s noncompliance “was not immediately apparent” as the council had given “a yearly average of the daily volume released”.

This average, 4.56ML, still exceeded the maximum allowed under the authority.

The order said this “this may have resulted in unauthorised environmental harm”.

Any potential impact though “was not clearly measured” due to alleged breaches on its environment monitoring program report.

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Gympie Regional Council has been given until October 2024 to address the alleged breaches about its sewage treatment plant operations as outlined in the protection order issued by the Environment Department.

Allegations about this report include that the council failed to give a detailed description of the methodology used in its latest document, did not give “ambient conditions” to determine any changes in the environment receiving the wastewater run-off, and did not provide a summary of recommendations on how to present or minimise any impacts of these releases.

The department said the council also failed to provide a toxicity assessment since 2014, despite being required to undertake one every five years.

The last assessment was carried out in 2014.

This assessment includes identifying “potentially hazardous contaminants” and evaluating the risk to the water where the sewage was being discharged.

The council had been in discussions with the department on having this requirement removed, but as nothing had been finalised it was accused of being in breach.

Discussions have been ongoing between the department and the council to “clarify some conditions”, the order says.

Even if implemented, though, it “will not remove the non compliances with the conditions referred to in (the) EPO”.

The council has been given until the end of October 2024 to rectify these issues.