Operator of anaerobic digestion plant fined for pollution of a watercourse
An operator of an energy from waste plant has been fined after polluting a stream.
The incident occurred in 2018 when silage liquor, created when crops used in the energy from waste plant were stored, escaped into a tributary of the River Cam. The release arose due to poorly-maintained drainage. The pollution was evident for nearly half a mile.
Cambridge magistrates’ court heard that while the silage, or compressed crops, is being stored, it produces a liquor with highly-elevated nutrient levels. If discharged into the environment, it is extremely harmful, especially to fish and other water life.
Magistrates heard the company had the necessary drainage system, but cracks around drains and concrete paving meant the silage liquor leaked into drains and out into the stream.
Breach
Pretoria Energy Company (Chittering) Ltd guilty to breaching regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
- Regulation 12(1)(b) prohibits causing or knowingly permitting water discharge activities or groundwater activities unless in accordance with an environmental permit.
Penalty
Pretoria Energy Company (Chittering) Ltd was fined £26,650 and ordered to pay costs of £15,622 and a victim surcharge of £170.
Fines for Devon business after he tipped waste on a floodplain
A man and his company have been fined after he illegally tipped material on a floodplain, increasing the risk of flooding to nearby communities.
The company deposited more than 4,000 tonnes of waste soil, stone and rubble on land at Five Bridges, Willand Road, Cullompton in Devon. The illegal tipping took place close to the Spratford Stream, a tributary of the River Culm and caused the main B3181 Cullompton to Willand road to flood on more than one occasion. Flooding arose due to reduced water storage capacity in the floodplain.
In December 2015 the man’s company, TMM Holdings Limited, registered a waste exemption with the Environment Agency to use waste materials on his land. The U1 exemption (‘use of waste in construction’) registered allows certain non-hazardous construction wastes including soil, stones, concrete and bricks to be used for specific construction activities.
The U1 exemption specifically excludes the use of waste in a floodplain without first obtaining special permission from the Environment Agency. The defendant failed to obtain this permission in spite of being repeatedly advised he needed to and that his actions were putting local communities at a significantly increased risk of flooding.
In January 2016 an Environment Agency officer noted waste continued to be deposited at the site. On numerous occasions, the man and his company were requested to remove the waste. The man refused to engage with the Environment Agency to resolve this issue.
In March 2017 the man and his company were served with a Flood Risk Activity Remediation Notice under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, requiring them to remove the waste from the floodplain. The notice was ignored and no action was taken to reduce the risk of flooding from the illegal waste activities.
Breaches
The man and his company, TMM Holdings Limited, pleaded guilty to four separate offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, including operating a waste depositing operation without a permit and failing to comply with a notice requiring disclosure of all monies received with regards the deposit of waste on the land.
Penalty
The man and his company, TMM Holdings Limted, were fined a total of £4,180 and ordered to pay £22,000 in costs.
The man was also given 100 hours of community work.
Lincolnshire dirt bike track fined over breaches of waste regulations
Two Lincolnshire businessmen have been ordered to pay a total of over £15,000 for dumping waste earth at an off-road motorcycle practise track in Gonerby Moor, Grantham.
The material was delivered to the track in over 1,000 deliveries between March and July 2019. A U1 exemption (‘use of waste in construction’) was registered for the site. This allowed up to 1,000 tonnes of soil to be used. However, over 20 times this limit was brought in by the haulier (GS Hughes Ltd).
Projects requiring a larger amount of waste must hold an environmental permit.
GS Hughes Ltd claimed not to know that there was a limit on the U1 exemption, but the court heard that the company had almost 40 years of experience in the industry and had turned a blind eye to environmental regulations. They were able to deposit waste for fees lower than they would have had to pay at a permitted site.
Breaches
The operator of the track and his company (Moto101 Ltd) pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a waste facility without an environmental permit, contrary to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. The offence was also committed with the consent or connivance of the operator, contrary to these regulations.
The Waste haulier, GS Hughes Ltd, pleaded guilty to an offence of depositing waste at the Moto101 site when no environmental permit was in force, contrary to the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Both companies and the track operator entered guilty pleas to offences of breaching their waste duty of care by failing to keep waste transfer notes to document the nature of the waste arriving at the site.
Penalties
GS Hughes Ltd was fined £6,666 and ordered to pay costs and a surcharge totalling £4,964.
The operator and Moto101 Ltd were fined a total of £2,040 and ordered to pay costs and surcharges totalling £1,404.
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