Two Doncaster men jailed and £200,000 seized in illegal waste case
Phillip Slingsby of Hadds Lane, Thorne, Doncaster and Robert Spencer of Oak Farm, Finningley, Doncaster were sentenced.
The offences relate to illegal waste activities that occurred between 2008 and 2010 at Middleton Quarry, Pollington and then at Wroot Road, Doncaster.
Phillip Slingsby, aged 42, was sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment, ordered to pay a contribution towards prosecution costs of £20,000 and disqualified as a director for 6 years. He was also subject to a confiscation order in the amount of £200,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 made at an earlier court hearing.
Robert Spencer, aged 63, was sentenced to a term of 9 months imprisonment, suspended for 2 years and ordered to pay £20,000 in confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2007 and 2010.
between December 2008 and April 2009, officers from the Environment Agency visited the Middleton Quarry, Pollington and observed tipping taking place on a large scale. The quarry did not benefit from an environmental permit that would authorise such an activity to take place. In fact, a permit would never have been granted given the proximity of the site to 3 Yorkshire boreholes used for the abstraction of drinking water.
Following initial discussions with Mr Slingsby about concerns over the activities taking place, a surveillance operation took place. Officers observed waste being tipped and levelled on an industrial scale. The waste comprised of wood, vegetation, plastics, asbestos sheeting and other non-inert waste. Sample testing results revealed the presence of chrysotile asbestos and asbestos fibres. The nature of the waste tipped posed a significant pollution risk to the nearby water sources.
In total 127,000.00 tonnes of waste were deposited at Middleton Quarry. Lawful disposal would have cost in excess of £440,000.
Operations at Wroot Road, Doncaster
Mr Slingsby then moved operations to 36 Acre Field, Wroot Road, Doncaster, a site owned by Mr Robert Spencer. Between January 2009 and October 2009 Robert Spencer allowed Phillip Slingsby to tip thousands of tonnes of waste on his land when there was no environmental permit in force. It is unlikely that a permit would ever have been granted due to the proximity of the site to water sources, the potential risks posed to ground water and the lack of planning permission.
Illegal waste activity in Shropshire ends with £69,000 penalty.
Jarsan Limited and Thomas Edward Jones pleaded guilty to operating a regulated facility without an Environmental Permit.
Thomas Jones (68) rather than the company should pay the fine and costs and he was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay £45,000 in costs accordingly.
The prosecution related to the deposit of between 21,000 and 31,000 tonnes of waste soil and rubble at Knockin Heath Business Park, Knockin situated in a rural part of Shropshire. Some of this waste originated from the construction of a new superstore in Welshpool, whereby Jarsan Limited trading as Rob Jones Tractor Hire was one of the appointed waste management companies employed to remove the surplus soil and rubble from the site.
Jarsan Limited had registered a series of waste management exemptions with the Environment Agency, permitting limited recovery and recycling of a variety of waste types without requiring a permit, provided the conditions of the relevant exemptions are adhered to.
n May 2010, Environment Agency Officers visited the Knockin Heath Business Park in order to investigate waste soil and rubble deposited at the site.
Upon inspection, it appeared that that far more waste soil and rubble had been deposited than that permitted by the waste exemptions. A land survey of the waste stockpiles confirmed that these quantities were far in excess of the quantities permitted on the site.
The waste operation should have been regulated by way of a valid Environmental Permit rather than by registered waste exemptions because of the scale of the activity.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Regulations 12 (1)(a), 38 (1)(a) and 41 (1) (a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Emission of chemical fumes affected residents and businesses in Swalwell
A Tyne and Wear metals recycling company has been fined £3,000 over an air pollution incident that caused disruption to residents and businesses in Swalwell.
J&J Stanley Ltd was sentenced by Newcastle Magistrates on 29 April following an emission of chemical fumes from its site on Longrigg Road, Swalwell, two years ago.
On the evening of 26 April 2012, the police and fire brigade received reports of a strong chemical smell in the area. The odour was so strong that the police closed nearby roads to vehicles and pedestrians, and they also visited local residents to advise them to keep windows and doors shut.
The Environment Agency tracked the source of the smell to a 10-tonne pile of aluminium waste, a recyclable residue known as dross, which had been deposited in the company’s yard.
When investigating officers visited the site, they could smell a chemical odour in the air, and a fizzing sound was heard, indicating that a chemical reaction was taking place in the aluminium waste pile. The waste pile had been left uncovered and exposed to rainfall, which may have started the reaction.
In court, J&J Stanley Ltd admitted an offence of depositing controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to human health.
In addition to the fine, J&J Stanley Ltd was ordered to pay £3,015.10 in costs and a victim surcharge of £120.
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