Victoria's workplace safety watchdog has laid charges against the Hazelwood Power Corporation for the 2014 brown coal mine fire which shrouded the town of Morwell in ash and smoke and sparked a massive firefighting effort.
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WorkSafe Victoria on Thursday morning filed charges over 10 alleged breaches of state law over the failure to maintain a safe workplace and for exposing non-employees to health risks.
It is the first formal legal charges resulting from the 2014 fire against the owners of the mine.
Hazelwood is majority-owned by the global energy company GDF Suez, which is known globally as Engie and is part-owned by the French government.
WorkSafe's charges come as the Environment Protection Authority is still considering whether to pursue its own legal charge for the event of February and March 2014.
The mine fire was sparked by embers from nearby bushfires and set the brown coal in the mine alight for 45 days. Tuesday will mark the second anniversary of the start of the fire.
During the crisis health authorities warned vulnerable residents of nearby Morwell to leave the town because of the danger posed by the smoke ash.
More than 7000 firefighters worked in the mine over the 45 days to put out the burning coal.
An ongoing inquiry into the mine fire last year found that it probably contributed to an increase in deaths in the Latrobe Valley.
The rise in deaths was noted between February and June 2014, when compared with the same period in previous years.
WorkSafe also investigated allegations against the performance of emergency service agencies - the Country Fire Authority, the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board and the Fire Services Commissioner - over the threat posed to firefighters from exposure to carbon monoxide and contaminated water early in the crisis.
But it said it had decided not to pursue charges against the agencies because it deemed they had taken reasonable measures to protect firefighters safety.
"As this matter is now before the Court, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time," WorkSafe said in a statement on Thursday.
Failure under state law to ensure a safe work place carries with it a penalty of about $1.35 million. Exposing the community to health risks carries the same penalty.
A spokesman for GDF Suez said on Wednesday night: "We can't comment on the matter as we have not been formally notified of any action by WorkSafe."
GDF Suez has also been locked in a battle with the Country Fire Authority over the firefighting bill for the 2014 crisis.
The CFA is seeking $18 million in costs.
The Authority has been preparing legal action after the company said it believed it should not have to pay.
