The EPA said this image shows the wastewater pond that received the impacted odorous effluent. The white solid substance is volatile fatty acid, which the EPA said indicates undigested wastewater. Photo: NSW EPA.
The smell of decaying waste that drifted across Goulburn earlier this year has resulted in a $30,000 fine for the company behind the town’s abattoir.
An NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson said it received complaints from the local community about strong, unpleasant odours – described as decaying waste – drifting across parts of Goulburn in April 2025.
“The odours are believed to have been caused by a failure in part of the abattoir’s wastewater treatment system, which led to untreated water discharging into an onsite dam,” the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday (2 September), the EPA said it had fined Southern Meats Pty Ltd $30,000 over the issue.
EPA’s regulatory operations director Steve Orr said no community should be exposed to such intense and offensive odours and the abattoir had been held to account.
“Residents should be able to open their windows or step outside without being hit with the stench of decaying waste,” he said.
“After receiving around nine complaints from the community, our officers conducted odour surveys across the affected areas and were able to clearly trace the foul smells back to the abattoir on Mazamet Road.”
Mr Orr said the EPA issued Southern Meats with a clean-up notice, requiring the company to urgently bring in experts to identify the source and recommend actions to address it.
“Through these efforts, the company progressively reduced the odours impacting residents,” he said.
“The operators of this facility have a clear responsibility under their licence conditions to treat and manage waste in a way that prevents odours and protects the community.”
In addition to the fine, the EPA issued Southern Meats with a prevention notice requiring improved measures to prevent similar issues in the future.
Under this notice, Southern Meats has committed to upgrading its monitoring systems and strengthening management plans, including enhanced staff training.
This is in order to better protect the local community and environment from future odour incidents.
Southern Meats was contacted about the matter, but did not respond by time of publication.
