Hotel Traralgon fined $9k by EPA Victoria for excessive noise

An iconic Traralgon establishment has copped a $9k-plus fine for excessive noise in a decision that the pub’s owner has labelled “ridiculous”.

EPA Victoria has fined the iconic Hotel Traralgon (known as Ryan’s Hotel) more than $9000 following a series of complaints of “excessively loud music”.

In a press release sent out today, Gippsland regional manager for EPA Victoria Jessica Bandiera said Ryan’s Hotel had been issued with advice on how to comply with the laws in late 2021, after the agency received complaints from the public.

“It started last December when we gave Ryan’s Hotel advice on how to comply with the law, then we issued the pub with an official Improvement Notice in February this year,” Ms Bandiera said.

Hotel Traralgon (formerly Ryan’s Hotel).

“In May, loud music from the pub was still affecting members of the public outside the premises, and EPA officers stationed monitoring equipment nearby that logged excessive levels of noise.

“Inspections after midnight on two Saturday nights confirmed that the excessive noise being logged was coming from Ryan’s Hotel.”

Under the Environmental Protection Act 2017, “unreasonable” residential noise is determined by local councils by considering:

• Volume and intensity
• The “character” of the noise
• Time and place
• Circumstances
• How long the noise goes for
• How often the noise can be considered unreasonable under the regulations

Hotel Traralgon owner George Zurcas said the fine was unfounded and that he had never received the EPA’s sound readings of his venue.

“I think it’s ridiculous and I’ll definitely be contesting it,” he said.

“They gave me some warnings and we did some readings and it came under our decibel (limits).

“I’ve never been supplied a reading from the EPA, council, police or anybody. And I can’t believe they’ve done a press release without showing me anything.

“Public servants forcing me to turn around and put my dancefloors outside and then fining me 9000 bucks.”

Mr Zurcas said he was incensed by EPA Victoria’s decision to issue a press release when he’d only received the official fine the day prior, and before he’d had a chance to contest it.

He also noted that after the initial warnings, Hotel Traralgon installed sound limiters and doubled their insulation.

“We’ve gone through hell through Covid, and for them to force our operations outside and then slap this fine on us is ridiculous.”

Ms Bandiera said the fine was handed down for failing to comply with initial notices and advice to lower noise, and that EPA Victoria was not required to provide Hotel Traralgon with noise monitoring data.

In response to Mr Zurcas’ claims that sound limiting technology had been installed, Ms Bandiera said “if it was installed it was with limited impact. We’ve been getting noise complaints for the last year, so there’s probably a little bit more that needs to be done”.

Ms Bandiera said that the EPA had received more than 40 complaints about Hotel Traralgon from the residential public.

“They were exceeding the decibel limit but they were also impacting locals as well during that time, so it’s a combination of noise levels and local impact.”

Ms Bandiera was not able to provide specific data about noise levels.