BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Department of Environment (DOE) has issued a RM30,000 compound on a fleet operator here for discharging oil waste in Sungai Kubang Semang near Jalan Permatang Nibong here.

Penang DOE director Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab said the company which also conducts maintenance works of commercial vehicles and lorries was also ordered to carry out cleaning works of the river and to immediately control any other serious environmental impact as a result of the violation.

Checks at the premises found that the operator had failed to maintain the oil traps and oil interceptors properly which resulted in the waterways being polluted.

"Penang DOE has also issued a notice to the company to conduct cleaning works and to bear the costs as well. It is also ordered to conduct a study on the possibility of ground pollution," she said in a statement today.

Sharifah Zakiah said the company, which also does contract work with several major petrochemical companies in the country, had also failed to manage scheduled waste according to the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.

It had also failed to employ a competent person to manage scheduled waste as required under Section 49A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, she added.

She said further inspections found that the monsoon drains in the area had been polluted by oil waste which was also found on the ground near the diesel skid tank at the premises.

-- BERNAMA