Michelle Dolphin - 20-Dec-2007
- On 17 December 2007, S & B Waste Management
and Recycling Ltd pleaded guilty at West Bromwich
Magistrates’ Court to two charges relating
to breaching a waste management licence.
Ronald Frank Gordon, who is employed by the
company as a site manager, was also found
guilty at West Bromwich Magistrates’ Court
to one charge of obstructing an Environment
Agency officer in their duties.
The charges were brought by the Environment
Agency under the Environmental Protection
Act 11000. S & B Waste Management and
Recycling Ltd was fined £2,000 and ordered
to pay costs of £1,000. Ronald Frank
Gordon was given a two year conditional discharge.
For the Environment Agency, Michael Robinson
told the court that Environment Agency officers,
who visited the site at Middlemore Road, Smethwick,
had concerns over the lack of site security
and the condition of the waste storage bunkers.
Environment Agency officers visited the site
twice in February 2007 and found that none
of the issues had been addressed. They served
Notices to the Company requiring that he complied
with the conditions in the site licence within
seven days.
When Environment Agency officers returned
on 8 March 2007, one officer was pushed a
number of times and verbally abused. The officer
was unable to carry out his duties to inspect
the site.
When Environment Agency officers visited
the site on 27 March 2007 the necessary alterations
to the site had been made.
Speaking after the case an Environment Agency
Officer involved in the investigation said:
“If companies want to deal with waste at their
sites they must have a waste management licence
and comply with it. Failure to do so can put
the environment in danger. We will not hesitate
to take action on those who break the law.”
+ More
Environment Agency announces winter lock
closure schedule for Medway
Head Office Press Office - 19-Dec-2007 -
Hampstead Lock, on the River Medway, will
be closed for a £400,000 refurbishment
from 7 January until 14 March 2008, the Environment
Agency announced today.
Southern Waterways Engineer Phil Munslow
said: "We’re all set to give Hampstead
Lock a new lease of life with a major facelift.
The lock chamber will undergo a thorough refurbishment
and stability works will be carried out on
the lock walls.
"The lock will be drained for the duration
of the works and a temporary dam put in place
50 metres upstream of the structure. A boom
will also be installed upstream to ensure
craft do not enter the works area."
Hampstead Lock is just one of 15 essential
projects, totalling £2 million, that
are being carried out on Kent’s leading boating
river this winter.
Other key works include £400,000-worth
of improvements at Allington. This will involve
stabilisation works on an eroding bank, better
facilities for the boats currently moored
there and the creation of a new slipway, canoe
portage and car park for river users. The
old, dilapidated gate timbers at Oak Weir
Lock will also be removed and replaced by
new ones to give the lock gates a further
15 years of life.
To allow all the works to go ahead, and boaters
to plan their journeys, the Environment Agency’s
Southern Navigation Team has announced the
following lock closure programme for early
2008:
• Anchor 11 to 15 February 2008
• Sluice Weir 7 January to 14 March 2008
• Oak Weir 7 January to 14 March 2008
• East Lock 18 to 25 February 2008
• Porters Lock 25 February to 3 March 2008
• Eldridges Lock 3 to 10 March 2008
• Town Lock 10 to 14 March 2008
Phil Munslow assured: "Water levels
will be raised earlier than the date shown
if the inspection and clearing operations
have been completed. In the event of high
flows, the water levels above Eldridges will
be lowered and the lock gates will be locked
open. This will allow the flood flows to pass
through the lock, minimising the chances of
debris causing blockages on the lock gates
and sluices."
In addition to the Medway works already confirmed
for this winter, the pump outs at Yalding
and Tonbridge are being replaced. New lockable
bollards or a gate will also be installed
at St Peters Street Slipway to prevent unauthorised
entry to the river. The start of ground investigations,
surveys and designs for the future refurbishment
of East Farleigh Lock and Teston Lock will
also get underway in the New Year.
If you’re planning a trip on the Medway this
winter and want the latest information about
lock closures on the river, visit the Notice
to Medway Mariners section on the Environment
Agency website: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/navigation/747415/187013/708698/?version=1&lang=_e
.
