Owners Strata Plan 10897 v Woollahra Municipal Council [2004] NSWLEC 5

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Owners Strata Plan 10897 v Woollahra Municipal Council [2004] NSWLEC 5 APPLICANT Owners Strata Plan 10897 PARTIES : RESPONDENT Woollahra Municipal Council FILE NUMBER(S) : 11202 of 2003 CORAM: Hussey C KEY ISSUES: Waste Disposal :- Issue of Direction for preventative action - reasonableness LEGISLATION CITED: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Protection of Environmental Operations Act 1997 CASES CITED: DATES OF HEARING: 19 January 2004 EX TEMPORE 01/19/2004 JUDGMENT DATE :

APPLICANT Mr J Davies (Representative Strata Body)

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT Mr M Connell , solicitor SOLICITORS Michell Sillar

JUDGMENT:

IN THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES 11202 of 2003

Hussey C

19 January 2004

Owners Strata Plan 10897 Applicant v

Woollahra Municipal Council Respondent

Judgment

1 . This appeal is against council's issue of a s 96(1) Direction to take preventative action to rectify unauthorised effluet discharge from a private sewer line discharging into Cooper Street, Paddington.

2 . I understand from the various statements that the discharge problem was evident for some time, with a number of complaints regarding odour being made by various residents.

3 . Mr Lee from council checked the origin of the discharge by placing dye in the sewerage system that confirmed the source of the pollution was the flats at No. 190 Glenmore Road. This resulted in the issue of the s 96 Direction to take preventative action. As the pollution source was traced to the subject property, I consider it was reasonable on the basis of the known information to issue the Direction to rectify the pollution, in order to protect the public interest.