GRANT District Council has upped the ante against its ongoing legal tussle with scrap metal operator Keith Pearson by slapping him with a litter abatement notice.
This follows council spending nearly $8000 on clearing rubbish along the roadside outside his scrap metal quarry at Compton.
The abatement notice means Mr Pearson – who has been embroiled in legal issues with local government for 14 years – now faces potentially heavier penalties.
Mr Pearson now faces a maximum penalty of $60,000 for a body corporate or $30,000 in the case of a natural person.
A $500 expiation fee also applies.
Mr Pearson did not pay for the clean-up on the roadside outside his quarry because council could not prove who dumped the material.
The junkyard operator maintains the public is dumping the rubbish on the roadside on Megaw Road.
At council’s full meeting this week, council environmental services director Leith McEvoy said the litter abatement notice aimed to secure ongoing compliance.
“We have taken this approach with other properties in our council area and it has certain requirements for the adjoining landowner to abide with,” Mr McEvoy said.
“If not, there are quite significant penalties we could look at imposing into the future if need be.”
He said this was a new approach that was introduced by the Environment Protection Authority a “couple of years ago”.
It will be an offence to dispose of litter onto land, including a road reserve, and includes a person who caused or allowed the litter to be disposed of.
The notice requires immediate and continuing obligation to refrain from disposing of scrap waste and other litter on the road.
It also ensures scrap metal associated with a business on the premises is not dumped on the road.
The road area must now be maintained within 100 metres of the premises to ensure it is free from all litter, including scrap metal items.
Mr Pearson has 14 days – from when the notice was served – to appeal the notice in the Environment, Resources and Development Court.
Speaking to The Border Watch yesterday, Mr Pearson said he believed he was being unfairly targeted given other property owners were not being served with the same notices.
“What is good for the goose may not always be good for the gander in this situation,” he said.
“This new notice shows the council is going above and beyond in harassing us.
“I do not believe the notice will stand up in court – I will attain legal advice on it.”
