Emergency clean-up ordered at Biloela's Essential Spill
A Department of Environment report describes incorrectly stored waste and chemicals at Essential Spill. (Supplied: Department of Environment)
In short:
The Department of Environment has been issuing clean-up notices and fines to Essential Spill in Biloela since 2022.
An inspection in March found exposed waste materials and oily water leaking into stormwater drains.
What's next?
The department has carried out emergency stabilisation works and is now seeking costs.
Emergency stabilisation works have been carried out by the Department of Environment at a Biloela waste business after years of clean-up orders and community complaints.
The department has been issuing notices and fines to Essential Spill on Callide Street since 2022 ordering the clean-up of hazardous materials and chemicals, all of which it says have been ignored.
An annotated drone image over the business from March. (Supplied: Department of Environment)
The business stopped trading in 2024 and went into liquidation in 2025.
The department issued another Environmental Enforcement Order in April this year, demanding the removal of all waste products at the site.
The department report details that, earlier this year, it received a complaint from Banana Shire Council about contaminants leaking from the site to adjacent properties.
Photographs from the inspection on March 10 of hydrocarbons in drains and seeping into neighbouring premises. (Supplied: Department of Environment)
Another complaint was received in March from a member of the public, who stated that after a significant rain event, a large volume of discoloured oily water was flowing from the premises and onto a nearby roadside.
The department then organised an inspection of the site, where it found open waste-oil drums, overcrowded and uncovered materials exposed to the weather in rusted and degraded containers, and an oil-type liquid flowing into stormwater drains and a nearby grassed area.
Drone footage showed significant quantities of open drums, aerosol cans, fire extinguishers, used oil filters and miscellaneous scrap metal.
It also showed oil leaking and pooling on the site and neighbouring areas.
Samples from the inspections identified results for hazardous wastes, including acids, pesticides, solvents, paint thinners, grease, ethanol, engine oils, mercury and discharged batteries.
Improperly stored containers and waste at the premises. (Supplied: Department of Environment)
Drains at the site flow to Callide Creek, about 2 kilometres from the premises, which is a catchment of the upper Fitzroy Basin and part of the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Area.
The department report said any contaminated stormwater flowing through the drains of the premises had the potential to affect the water quality, aquatic ecosystems and land usability, as well as posing a public health and fire risk.
A contamination risk is defined under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 as material environmental harm, which carries a maximum penalty of $112,657.
Essential Spill is located at 146 Callide Street, Biloela. (Supplied: Google Maps)
As it received no response from the business owner, the department carried out emergency action to stabilise the premises, including installing pump infrastructure, hessian material and sandbagging along the boundary.
The department last week issued a cost-recovery notice for the clean-up works.