A chemical and material manufacturer has been fined after spilling coal tar pitch onto the wharf at the Port of Newcastle.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority fined Koppers Carbon Materials and Chemicals $15,000 for the incident, the largest fine the EPA can issue under its legislation.
About 2000 litres of pitch was allegedly sprayed onto the wharf and a tanker, with some going into the Hunter River, while it was being transferred from the tanker to the main Koppers plant in March.
"While there were some countermeasures in place, including a bund around the area to capture potential spills, some of the tar pitch sprayed outside the contained area and into the harbour," EPA regulatory operations director Adam Gilligan said.
"The environment protection measures in place weren't adequate to address the risks in this situation."
Koppers arranged a clean-up of the surrounding area of the riverbed and has changed its practices to prevent a similar incident happening again, EPA said.
