The Environment Agency
and the local Catchment Sensitive Farming
team are taking a hands-on approach at this
year’s Suffolk Show.
he Environment Agency
and the local Catchment Sensitive Farming
team are taking a hands-on approach at this
year’s Suffolk Show. They will be offering
practical advice on a wide range of subjects
from Agricultural Waste Regulations, Nitrate
Vunerable Zone and PPC (Pig and Poultry)
Regulations, to capital grants for Catchment
Sensitive Farming.
Environment Agency,
Team Leader Chris McArthur said, “As part
of our pro-active work we are attending
the Suffolk Show at stand No. 61 with experienced
agricultural staff, who are willing to take
time to provide one to one help throughout
the event”.
Farming is one of the
sectors of the economy most vulnerable to
the weather and the effects of climate change.
Farmers in England and Wales are bracing
themselves for wetter winters, drier summers
and extreme weather events such as scorching
heat and intense rainfall.
A well managed farm
enables farmers to make the most of their
land and livestock but agricultural land
also has aesthetic and amenity value. It
gathers water, recycles and holds carbon
and nutrients, forms soil and shapes our
landscape. It provides a haven for wildlife
and can play its part in protecting against
water pollution and flooding.
In farming what’s good
for the environment can also be good for
business. Wise stewardship of resources
such as soil, nutrients, water and energy
can help farmers to cut costs, maintain
or improve productivity, minimise pollution
while enhancing wildlife, habitats and the
landscape.
Chris went on to say
“Our staff are always available to advise
on a wide range of agricultural subjects
including: soil management, water abstraction,
fuel and fertiliser storage and river management
issues”.
This year, local Environment
Agency officers are putting considerable
resource and effort into promoting a greater
understanding of the changes to the Nitrate
Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) regulations.
Nutrient planning is
of great benefit to farmers, as Chris says,
“When you achieve the right balance in your
soils, you can improve the quality and yield
of the crop whilst ensuring environmental
compliance. Do come and visit us and also
take the opportunity to discuss capital
grants with our Catchment Sensitive Farming
colleagues who will also be on our stand.”
Advice can always be
found on the Environment Agency website:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk but why not
take the opportunity to have an informal
chat with staff at the Suffolk Show on 27th
and 28th May on Stand 61.
+ More
Barnsley farmer fined
2,000 GDP for causing death of hundreds
of fish by slurry pollution
A Barnsley farmer has
been fined £2,000 for polluting a
watercourse, resulting in the deaths of
hundreds of fish and other creatures.
John Hill pleaded guilty
at Barnsley Magistrates Court today, 21
May 2009, to polluting a stream with slurry.
Hill, 52, of Kidfield
House Farm, Renald Lane, Holyandswaine,
Barnsley, was fined £2,000 and
ordered to pay full costs of £1,328.84
to the Environment Agency, which brought
the case.
The court heard that,
following a report of dead fish in Rons
Hill Dyke at Holyandswaine on 23 July 2008,
Environment Agency officer Anthony Downing
attended and inspected the stretch of water.
He discovered dead trout, bullheads and
the endangered native white clawed crayfish.
The water was cloudy
and foaming, indicating that it was polluted.
Samples were taken from Rons Hill Dyke and
a converging water course, Cat Hill Clough.
An ecological survey was carried out on
24 July, and a minimum of 699 dead fish
and 41 dead crayfish were counted over a
distance of 1.9km.
The two streams are
in land below Kidfield House Farm, and in
August 2008 the farmer, John Hill, was interviewed
under caution. He told officers that on
a day when he was not on the farm his son
had moved a slurry distribution pipe, and
he believed that moving the pipe had disconnected
a coupling, causing slurry to be pumped
into the stream unmonitored overnight.
He accepted that he
was responsible for the pollution of the
watercourse, and said that the incident
was a one-off.
Anthony Downing of the
Environment Agency said: “Rons Cliff Dyke
is regarded by the Environment Agency as
one of the best quality watercourses in
the Dearne catchment area. It is of particular
significance due to the population of endangered
native white clawed crayfish.
“The damage to animal
health in the watercourse was significant,
and the farmer had failed to report the
incident. We will not hesitate to prosecute
those who pollute and damage the environment,
where possible, and we would encourage the
public to contact us on our incident hotline
0800 807060 if they notice pollution problems.”
The magistrates said
that there was low culpability and they
gave credit for cooperation and an early
guilty plea, although the damage to the
watercourse had been significant. In mitigation
it was said that Mr Hill had not been on
the farm that day, and the pipes had been
set up by his son.
Hill was charged with
the following offences:
That he did, between
the 20th and the 24th of July in Holyandswaine
in the County of South Yorkshire, cause
poisonous noxious or polluting matter, namely
water from a slurry filtration system, to
enter the Cat Hill Clough, a controlled
water.
Contrary to S85 (1) of the Water Resources
Act 1991.
+ More
Environment Agency completes
Hessle flood wall
Staff at the Environment
Agency have put the finishing touches to
a new flood wall that will help to protect
residents in Hessle from flooding.
The low wall and embankment
is 120 metres in length and was built in
response to the floods in June 2007 when
more than 20 properties on Hull Road, Hessle
were flooded from Fleet Drain.
The Environment Agency
is currently looking at a long-term plan
to manage flooding in the area but officers
from the Operations Delivery team found
a way that could help residents in the interim
which could they could design, build and
fund from their own budget.
Environment Agency engineer
Angie McKinney said: “When the drain overtopped
in June 2007, it caused a lot of damage
because the land is flat and the flood water
can spread over a wide area. We looked at
the situation and found that we could do
something quite simply and quickly which
could help around 20 properties.
“The wall isn’t a permanent
solution but it will help to manage flooding
in the area until an option that looks at
the wider implications can be considered.”
The structure includes
70 metres of concrete flood wall and 50
metres of embankment and cost around £30,000.
It runs to the rear of houses on Hull Road
and took eight weeks for the team to build.
The Environment Agency
is looking at a wider strategy to manage
the risk of flooding from the River Hull,
and this takes into account Fleet Drain,
Western Drain and Acre Heads Drain.
Because the strategy
looks at everything that could affect flooding,
options for specific locations could take
several years to develop, and a formal flood
defence scheme can cost millions of pounds.
Angie said: “We carried
out a detailed assessment of the drain to
ensure that no other properties were put
at risk as a result of our work. Residents
are delighted with the new defence, and
we are glad to have been able to help.”
The Operations Delivery
team is the Environment Agency’s maintenance
and construction workforce. The work is
extremely varied and ranges from clearing
debris from river banks to building and
looking after the region’s flood defences.
The team is out every
day, maintaining and improving Environment
Agency structures and ensuring that they
are fit for purpose. And when the worst
happens, they are also in the front line
of our incident response teams.
