AGL’s Bayswater Power Station at Muswellbrook has been fined after it was found to be allegedly discharging saline water in a nearby creek.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority says a pump failure resulted in the water, which has excess concentrations, to discharge from the collection system and into Bayswater Creek.
Saline seepage from the Lake Liddell dam wall is collected and pumped back into the lake.
The incident has resulted in formal warnings for failing to immediately reporting the incident, as well as failure to operate plant equipment in an efficient manner.
AGL has also been fined $15,000 and the EPA says it intends to vary Bayswater’s Environment Protection Licence to require that it review the adequacy of the seepage collection system and investigate the source of the elevated salinity in the seepage water.
NSW Environment Protection Authority Executive Director Steve Beaman says it’s disappointing that over the past two years, the authority has seen several water pollution incidents at the Bayswater site.
“As a major operator in the Hunter region, we expect AGL to be meeting its obligations while also doing what it can to protect the region’s natural environment.
“With any aging infrastructure it is critical that companies regularly check and maintain their equipment to reduce the risk of pollution incidents like we have seen here.
“Any sudden change in conditions of a waterway can have a severe impact, with most aquatic organisms only able to tolerate a specific salinity range,” Mr Beaman said.