Ardent Leisure fined over Sydney Harbour diesel spill

Ardent Leisure must also pay the Environment Protection Authority’s investigation and legal costs following the diesel spill at the marina, which has since been sold to a consortium.

Decommissioning work on a disused underground fuel storage tank resulted in about 6000 litres of diesel fuel spilling into Rushcutters Bay in 2016.

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The diesel spill followed the severing of a fuel line by a third party contractor. The line was thought to be redundant but was connected to an active diesel tank.

“At the time of the incident, Ardent failed to ensure that it held diagrams which accurately depicted the underground fuel pipe network at the marina,” Ardent says.

The company says it has agreed to pay the costs of the EPA, in the proceedings heard in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

The EPA commenced the proceedings last year and Ardent Leisure accepted responsibility.

At the time of the incident, Ardent said it notified the EPA and relevant authorities, who attended the site and worked closely with Ardent’s staff to implement an immediate and extensive response.

“This was promptly done to the satisfaction of authorities with the majority of the diesel spill cleaned up in three days,” Ardent says. “No evidence of harm to any fish, seabird species or marine species was observed as a result of the incident.”

Ardent Leisure sold the entire d’Albora Marinas portfolio for $126 million to Goldman Sachs and the Sydney-based commercial property lender and fund manager Balmain Corporation in 2016.

The d’Albora Marinas businesses included seven high-profile marinas encompassing more than 1300 berths at Rushcutters Bay, The Spit and Cabarita Point in Sydney as well as marinas in Melbourne and on the NSW Coast at Nelson Bay and Akuna Bay.

This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.