AGL under scrutiny for possible air-monitoring breach
By Connie Agius
Updated 23 minutes ago
Gas company AGL is facing investigation by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for a potential breach of an environment protection licence.
AGL failed to publish data from its continuous air monitoring program at the Rosalind Park Gas Treatment Plant between February and May, a requirement under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act.
The plant is part of the company's coal seam gas project at Camden, in south-west Sydney.
The law compels AGL to monitor for air emissions continuously and quarterly, and to publish that data on its within 14 days.
An AGL spokesperson confirmed that continuous emissions monitoring data for its gas plant at Camden had not been published on its website.
"This is due to the replacement of old monitoring equipment and the installation of new equipment," the spokeswoman said.
"AGL has been working hard to ensure the data from both our old and new systems are validated, prior to publishing."
The company said tests show emissions have not exceeded licence conditions and the reports will be available in the next week.
Failure to comply with this requirement can result in a fine of up to $4400.
An EPA spokesperson said the authority would investigate the potential breach after it was brought to its attention by the ABC.
This is the third time AGL has come under scrutiny for its air monitoring program.
The EPA fined AGL $1500 in March this year for failing to maintain equipment in a proper and efficient condition at the Rosalind Park plant, which resulted in emissions of nitrogen oxides above limits permitted by the licence.
AGL is also under investigation by the EPA for failing to continuously monitor for emissions of nitrogen oxides between 2009 and 2012 at the same plant, in breach of its licence conditions.
Elaine Johnson, from the NSW Environmental Defender's Office, said the main purpose of publishing continuous air monitoring data is to ensure that people who live close to large industries are aware of how much pollution is being released into their local environment.
"The publication of monitoring data is very important for communities who are concerned about the health and environmental impacts of pollution," she said.
"The legislation allows the public to understand what sorts of chemicals are going into their environment, so that they can make informed choices about how they respond."
"It also means that polluters and regulators are more accountable, because the community can actually monitor what is going on in their local area and check for themselves whether operators are complying with their licence conditions."
After the ABC's inquiries, AGL posted the March 2013 Quarterly Air Monitoring Report on its website.
