Dave Ferguson - 19-Oct-2007
- Officers from the Environment Agency are
investigating a pollution incident that
has killed more than hundred fish along
a 1km stretch of the Shill Brook in Carterton,
Oxfordshire.
The Environment Agency received a call
from a member of the public today (Friday)
after she saw dead fish in the brook yesterday.
The fish killed include brown trout and
bullhead, which are both protected species
under European legislation, and stickleback.
Environment officer David Headon said:
“This is a serious incident, which has affected
a previously pristine habitat along the
Shill Brook.
“We are investigating the possible cause
of the fish kill and fisheries and environment
officers are currently on site assessing
the full impact of the incident.
“We would ask anyone who sees dead fish,
fish in distress or pollution in streams
or rivers to call our emergency hotline
on 0800 80 70 60 immediately – even if you
think someone else may have already notified
us, please give us a call.
“This will not only help us respond accordingly
to reduce the impact of any pollution at
the earliest possible opportunity, but it
may also help us gather vital evidence which
may lead to a prosecution.
“Our officers are continuing to assess
conditions along the river, but it will
take some time for us to determine the full
environmental impact.”
Members of the public can report pollution
incidents by calling the Environment Agency’s
emergency hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
+ More
Severn Trent Water fined for polluting
Lydney Canal
Michelle Dolphin - 17-Oct-2007 - On 15
October 2007 Severn Trent Water pleaded
guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court to
polluting The Lydney Canal.
The charges were brought by the Environment
Agency under Section 85 of the Water Resources
Act 1991. Severn Trent Water were fined
£13,330 and ordered to pay investigation
costs of £2,882 and legal costs of
£1,200.
For the Environment Agency, Dermot Scully
told the court that on 30 October 2006,
an Environment Agency officer saw a flock
of gulls feeding on a large number of dead
fish in Lydney Canal. Water samples were
taken and tests showed that it had been
polluted with raw sewage resulting in very
low oxygen levels.
The pollution source was traced to Severn
Trent Water's East Marsh pumping station
in Lydney. Severn Trent Water were contacted
and the discharge was immediately stopped.
Over the following 48 hours, The Environment
Agency and Severn Trent Water tried to improve
the oxygen levels saving many thousands
of fish. On 31 October 2006, the Environment
Agency then opened the tidal gates to the
Severn Estuary to help flush out the polluted
water.
Severn Trent Water hold a consent to discharge
sewage at the East Marsh pumping station
in an emergency or under storm conditions.
There was no emergency or storm conditions
whilst the sewage was being discharged.
Therefore Severn Trent Water were in breach
of consent. The system is protected by alarms
but these had been triggered 8 days previously
and had not been reset.
Speaking after the case, Ian Skuse, an
Environment Agency officer involved in the
investigation said: “Severn Trent Water
breached the conditions of their consent
allowing sewage to enter the River Lyd seriously
affecting water quality and causing the
death of hundreds of fish. More significantly,
they ignored a high level alarm for six
days and, as their representative admitted
during interview under caution, during that
period, they were “flying blind”. We are
pleased that the Court imposed the maximum
fine that they could for this offence. It
is vital that companies have robust systems
in place to ensure that the environment
is protected.”
In mitigation, Mark Scoggins told the Court
on behalf of the Company, that the Company
had responded promptly when the incident
was reported to them by the Environment
Agency and had incurred significant costs
in remedying the effects of the pollution.
They had also modified the control panel
so that only Company employees could access
it by means of a password.
Before announcing the sentence, the Chairman
of the Bench told the Company that the level
of fine reflected the considerable loss
of amenity to local residents, especially
anglers by the Company’s very careless conduct
in ignoring the high level alarm for six
days. In mitigation the company had fully
and promptly cooperated with the Environment
Agency. They had also pleaded guilty at
the first opportunity and the fine would
be reduced by 30% for that reason.
