Rob
Walsh - 22-Apr-2008 - Yorkshire Water Services
were fined £10,000 for polluting of
the River Humber, in a case brought at Hull
Magistartes Court, today 22 April 2008.
The company, who are
based in Bradford, pleaded guilty and were
ordered to pay costs of £1,337.03
to the Environment Agency, which brought
the case
Paul Harley, prosecuting
for the Environment Agency, told the court
that Yorkshire Water Services have a consent
to discharge treated sewage into the Humber
Estuary from the waste water works in Saltend.
A condition of their
licence is that the suspended solids in
the discharged water must never exceed 259
milligrams per litre of water. The discharge
point is regularly monitored and samples
are taken by the Environment Agency for
analysis.
A sample taken on 20
March 2007 was found to contain 261 milligrams
per litre. Fortunately, although the estuary
is a site of Special Scientific Interest
and a Special Area of Conservation, there
was no measurable environmental impact.
An aggravating feature
of this prosecution was the fact that Yorkshire
Water Services had already received two
formal cautions from the Environment Agency
for pollution offences relating to the same
treatment works, in July and August 2006.
In mitigation it was
said that Yorkshire Water Services had to
shut down and remove the main pumps at the
site for maintenance purposes, and the back
up pumps had not been able to cope with
the conditions. They had replaced the pumps
since this incident and brought in new monitoring
procedures to prevent future occurrences.
The Magistrates commented
that, in their view, the actions of Yorkshire
Water Services showed poor maintenance management
at the works and they bore in mind the previous
history of cautions for similar offences.
They gave credit for an early guilty plea
and the steps taken by the company to prevent
re-occurrence, but nonetheless it was appropriate
to fine the firm.
+ More
Environment Agency boss
tells Sheffield businesses to sign-up
Rob Walsh - 22-Apr-2008
- With less than 8% of eligible Sheffield
businesses signed-up to the Environment
Agency’s free flood warning service, regional
director Toby Willison will address the
Sheffield Chamber of Commerce on Thursday
(April 24) to discuss how businesses can
improve their flood resilience.
“There is no escaping
the fact that Sheffield has one of the lowest
sign-on rates for our free Floodline Warnings
Direct service in the whole of England,”
Mr Willison said.
“Last summer alone,
around 1,800 businesses flooded in South
Yorkshire – many of those in Sheffield.
The Environment Agency wants to work with
the Chamber of Commerce to build the flood
resilience of businesses and ensure they
are better prepared for the threat of flooding.”
Since last summer the
Environment Agency has increased the number
of high risk properties that are covered
by the warning service. Floodline Warnings
Direct sends an automatic message to the
landlines and mobile telephones of those
signed up, telling them when flooding is
imminent and what action to take to protect
their home or business.
The Sheffield Chamber
of Commerce event Protect your Business
is an opportunity for businesses to gain
information, network and identify contingency
planning needs. Around 50 businesses are
expected at attend and receive an Environment
Agency business resilience pack.
“We know that small
businesses have limited resources but they
are more likely to be affected by flooding
than fire and the effects can be 30 times
as costly. There are a range of actions
that businesses can take to improve their
resilience to flooding,” Mr Willison said.
The Environment Agency
urges businesses to do a checklist to prepare
for flooding, including:
• Finding out
if your business is at risk of flooding
…
… by checking flood maps and signing up
to Floodline Warnings Direct.
• Preparing a flood plan…
… moving stock, fittings, valuable equipment
above the flood level …flood contingency
plans with suppliers and/or clients, etc..
• Staff training and evacuation…
…can staff work quickly and efficiently
to implement flood preparations.
• Protecting your property…
… have you installed one-way valves in toilets
and drains … is your computer equipment
in the basement, etc..
• Flood insurance…
… do you have adequate insurance and what
information is required in the event of
a flood.
Environment Agency regional Director Toby
Willison will provide the opening address
for the Protect your Business event from
10am, while EA Yorkshire Area Flood Risk
Manager, Peter Holmes will also be making
a presentation later in the morning.
