Fines for two skip companies caught burning wood
The Environment Agency has fined two skip companies for providing wood to an illegal wood burning site. The landowner carrying out the wood burning has also been fined.
Environment Agency investigators identified that at least eighteen lorry loads of wood had been dumped at the site in Upminster, Essex during January 2012. The investigators went onto the land with the police and found stockpiles of chipboard, varnished and painted wood near the fire. A very large ash pile of around 161m3 was observed at the site.
Although the two skip companies were licensed waste carriers, the crime was found to have been financially motivated.
In mitigation the landowner stated that he did not know it was illegal to receive waste wood at his premises. Although the landowner had not been directly charging the waste carriers, an honesty box was in place for payment.
The landowner pleaded guilty to running a waste operation unauthorised by an environmental permit under Regulation 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The landowner was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay contributions towards costs of £1,000.
Both skip companies pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 33(1)(a) and 33(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Modern Skips Ltd was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £4,600 costs. Excel Skip Hire Ltd was fined £5,000 plus costs of £2,300.
Abattoir operator fined for breaching permit condition
A Stirling abattoir operator has been fined for breaching a condition of its environmental permit and a subsequent enforcement notice.
SEPA attended the abattoir on 29 January 2013 following a complaint regarding pollution and odours from a tributary into the River Allan. Releases were traced to an abattoir in Bridge of Allan. An officer identified that manure, slurry, bedding and paunch contents were not being stored correctly in the manure storage area (dung midden), causing the contamination of run-off entering a watercourse.
SEPA returned to the site on 6 February 2013. Despite some improvement and no further releases to the watercourse being apparent, materials were still being stored outside the dung midden.
SEPA issued an enforcement notice, requiring that the storage issue be dealt with by 12 February 2013 to bring the abattoir into compliance with the permit. SEPA returned to the site on 12 February 2013 and identified that the issue remained ongoing.
The abattoir operator pled guilty to breaches of Regulation 30(1)(b) and 30(1)(d) of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 and Section 2 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. The operator received fines totalling £26,250.
£60,000 Confiscation Order secured against Coalisland Car Breaker
A County Tyrone man has received a Confiscation Order totalling £60,000 for operating an unlicensed car breaker’s business.
On 24 October 2012 a Northern Ireland Environment Agency officer attended the breaker’s yard and found that around 800 end of life vehicles (ELVs) and their parts were held. Officers returned to the site on 1 May 2013 and found that a large amount of EVLs remained on site.
The breaker’s yard was not subject to a waste management licence or licence to operate as an authorised treatment facility for ELVs. A waste management licence was subsequently applied for and received for the site.
On 18 February 2014 the operator of the yard pleaded guilty to six charges under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 relating to the unauthorised deposit and treatment of waste and the failure to provide information requested by an officer.
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