Lagoon Road Northern Heights facility

Prior to the 2018 fire, operations at TFI’s Northern Heights facility included slaughtering, product packaging and storage, rendering of by-products, skin-salting, and the reuse of wastewater for irrigation. Currently only the rendering plant, skin sheds and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) are operational, with the rendering and blood cooking facility processing by-products from TFI’s Pallamana and Lobethal abattoirs.

The facility operates close to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These hours have increased since the 2018 fire but remain within the permitted hours of operation.

Environmental Management

Environmental risks from the Murray Bridge facility include nuisance odour from rendering operations and the management of wastewater generated by the site. The site borders the Northern Heights community and is close to the more densely populated township of Murray Bridge, which increases the risk of widespread nuisance and community concern relating to wastewater management at the facility.

Odour

The EPA is aware of issues to do with odour generated by the plant affecting the local community. The EPA’s response includes regular meetings with TFI, extensive monitoring campaigns in the community and increased site inspection activity. Their EPA Licence requires actions to minimise odour emissions from the site, including the management and maintenance of a biofilter and a wet scrubber to treat the key odour sources and to implement an Environmental Management Plan for wastewater management.

A 2023 assessment of TFI’s odour control equipment demonstrated that the equipment was functioning to the required specifications. TFI then engaged an odour specialist to complete a review of all potential odour sources on the site to try to identify any specific section(s) of the facility contributing to odour emissions. While this review identified several measures that could improve odour from the facility, no finding was made about the specific cause of odours being observed off-site.

Since the odour assessment was completed in 2023, TFI has undertaken a range of incremental maintenance and improvement activities at the facility to lessen the impact of odour emissions. The EPA is aware that, despite these efforts, odour issues continue to be a concern for the surrounding community.

Construction of a new rendering facility at TFI’s Pallamana site is unlikely to commence for several years. Therefore, in July 2024, the EPA proposed updated conditions to TFI’s Northern Heights licence (EPA Licence #11649) and TFI consented to these conditions being added to the licence using section 45(3)(b)(i) of the Environment Protection Act 1993. The updated conditions require:

  • Further comprehensive whole of site assessment work, to be completed by an appropriately qualified air quality professional. This work must consider the impacts of the plant’s operations and will propose options for reducing odour impacts, with an Odour Assessment Report to be submitted to the EPA.
  • Development and implementation of an Environment Improvement Program to implement the preferred odour mitigation options.

Community Odour Monitoring Activities

Community feedback about odour impacts is valued by the EPA and assists with understanding the impact at different times, under various conditions, and in different geographical areas. If you are experiencing significant impacts, please visit our odour management page for more information about the EPA’s regulation of odour. Residents can lodge odour reports through the EPA’s online reporting portal or by completing a hard copy odour diary.

Given the complexity of odour present in the surrounding area, community reports assist with identifying patterns, specific sources and improving the quality of information available to the EPA. Information such as the odour tones and intensity, time of day, duration of the odour, impacts to amenity, and on-ground weather conditions are of particular interest to the EPA.