16/01/2006
- A Croydon company has been ordered to pay more than £9,000
after an oil tank on its site was vandalised and polluted
a 3km stretch of the River Ash. Henry Streeter (Sand &
Ballast) Limited, of Purley Way, Croydon, pleaded guilty on
Friday 13 January at Staines Magistrates’ Court, to allowing
oil to enter the River Ash, from its landfill site, an offence
under the Water Resources Act 1991.
The company was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,068
costs.
Officers from the Environment Agency first became aware
of the pollution on 2 January 2005 after a member of the
public reported that the River Ash at the end of their garden
was covered in an oil like substance.
When Sarah Dover, an environment officer, inspected the
river at Nutty Lane, she could smell diesel and could see
oil iridescence on the water. The officer arranged for absorbent
pads to be put across the river to trap and collect the
oil and prevent it from spreading further. With the help
of the resident she was then able to trace the oil upstream
to the Henry Streeter (Sand and Ballast) Limited landfill
site.
There were large puddles of red diesel on the site and
a hose from a gas oil tank on the site was found lying on
the ground outside the bunded area which had caused a large
spillage. As she left the site Miss Dover saw a funnel,
latex gloves and two empty canisters which showed that vandals
were the likely culprits.
A number of water samples were taken but the river upstream
of the site was clear of oil indicating that the spillage
must be the source of the pollution.
The officer was unable to immediately contact the company
until her office reopened on 4 January 2005 as the information
on the company’s site board was not up to date. But when
she visited the site again on 4 January 2005 she saw that
a large area of the site affected by the oil spillage had
been covered with a layer of sand and soil.
The company had found out about the spillage on 3 January
2005 but had failed to call the Environment Agency, contrary
to its environmental spills procedure. If they had called
the Environment Agency they would have been strongly advised
not to cover up the oil as this hampered the investigation
and the initial clean up of the site.
The company told the Environment Agency that the oil tank
was used to fuel vehicles used on the site. They acknowledged
that security was a problem but said that they believed
the locked gate was enough to deter vandals and that only
small vehicles could pass through the concrete pillars at
the entrance.
They estimated that between 1,000 and 3,000 litres of oil
had spilled on to the ground and no more than 200 to 400
litres could have been stolen by the vandals, due to the
limited size of a vehicle which could enter the site. They
also told the Environment Agency that the fence had been
repaired and the site was now being visited more regularly.
The oil continued to leach out of the ground into the river
for a number of days and was collected behind the booms
in the Ash. The court heard there was no actual harm to
fish or wildlife because of the dilution factor but that
there was a clear potential for harm. A substantial clean
up operation had to take place which the company paid for.
Sarah Dover, environment officer, said “Companies that
keep oil on their premises must be sure that tanks and pipes
are kept very secure to avoid both accidental spillages
and the risk from vandalism. Oil pollution poses a severe
risk to the environment especially the aquatic environment.
Pollution Prevention Guidelines are available on the Environment
Agency’s website and anyone who notices any environmental
pollution, can contact our emergency hotline on 0800 80
70 60.”
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