Gippsland dairy farms not managing effluent, says EPA

Inspections of 19 Gippsland dairy farms have found 85 per cent non-compliance in dairy effluent management, according to EPA Victoria.

The high level of non-compliance was in spite of “ongoing communications with the industry” about effluent management, the agency said, as well as “surprising and disappointing.”

Jessica Bandiera. EPA Gippsland Regional Manager, said that, “Maintaining a dairy effluent management system is vital. Cleaning out the dairy effluent ponds regularly and ensuring appropriate irrigation systems are in place will capture valuable resources and save thousands in fertilizer costs”.

“We gave compliance advice and issued nine notices requiring non-compliant farms to install controls, or complete works to better manage their risks. We have also issued seven fines totaling more than $20,000 with more likely to come.”

Bandiera said the majority of non-compliance issues were to do with dairy effluent ponds full or overflowing into paddocks and down into waterways, as well as broken or ineffective equipment such as pumps and irrigation systems.

Picture: credit Agriculture Victoria