Bungowannah odours
We are aware of community reports of odour from the Rivalea piggery in Bungowannah. We appreciate that odours can be unpleasant and can impact quality of life.
The EPA is taking action to require Rivalea to improve odour management at its Bungowannah facility. Our officers are conducting in-person odour surveys at locations around the facility to determine intensity, persistence and potential aggravating factors of the odour. We are also investigating reports of odour received from the community.
Rivalea has committed to relocating the piggery to another premises in line with their ‘Site closure and herd reduction timeline’, which includes removing all pigs from the facility by 30 September 2028.
Regulatory update
The EPA is requiring the company to reduce odour impacts on the community as a priority and have undertaken a range of actions, including:
- varying the Environment Protection Licence (EPL 11393) for this facility to include Pollution Reduction Programs, which formalise Rivalea’s commitment to relocate the premises and to reduce the number of pigs kept on site
- varying the EPL for this facility to add traffic related dust conditions (Notice No: 1648704) and a condition relating to offsite odours (Notice No: 1640477)
- issuing Rivalea an Official Caution in relation to offsite odours being emitted beyond the boundaries of their premises
- inspecting the Rivalea Green Field sites that have been earmarked for site relocation
- investigating odour reports made by the community to identify potential trends, patterns and weather conditions associated with odour reports. This helps us to undertake targeted surveys and/or inspections during conditions when odours are more likely to occur.
- undertaking odour surveys and inspections pre-emptively and in response to community reports to identify the source of odours and assess compliance with licence conditions
- undertaking a site inspection of the licensed premises with an EPA air technical specialist to review the current operating practices and associated odour mitigation measures to identify any potential areas for improvement.
Where necessary, we will continue to take regulatory action including issuing Penalty Notices, Prevention Notices, Warning Letters, Official Cautions and Pollution Reduction Programs for non-compliance with licence conditions. Our regulatory decision making is undertaken in line with the EPA’s Regulatory Policy.
Reporting odours
If you are experiencing odours and believe they are originating from the Rivalea Bungowannah piggery, we encourage you to report this directly to Rivalea so that they can investigate potential causes of odour at the time you may experience them.
- Rivalea Community Hotline on 02 6033 8080 or
- Submit your report via email at the Rivalea Australia webpage
To report environmental concerns or complaints, you can also contact the EPA’s 24-hour Environment Line email [email protected].
Information about persistent odour can also be recorded using the fact sheet and odour log sheet, which can then be emailed to us.