x
 
 
 
Panorama
 
 
 
 
 

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY WORKING DO DISCOVER CAUSE OF
MASSIVE FISH KILL AT HYTHE LAKE


Environmental Panorama
International
October of 2009


Environment Agency teams are working to save fish and eels and figure out what has killed approximately 500 fish at Palmarsh Fishery, Hythe, since yesterday (Monday 26 October).

Environment Agency teams are working to save fish and eels and figure out what has killed approximately 500 fish at Palmarsh Fishery, Hythe, since yesterday (Monday 26 October). The Environment Agency was called to the 55 acre lake following reports of hundreds of dead fish of a range of different species and sizes. Environment Management and Fisheries officers visited the site and immediately deployed aeration equipment to boost oxygen levels in the huge lake.

Officers also took a series of samples of the water from various areas of the lake. The Environment Agency’s Analysis and Reporting team is analysing the samples to try to establish the exact cause of the fish deaths. They are looking to see if there are algae in the samples as they can change conditions in lakes which can lead to fish deaths.

The private fishing lake, next to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is a very big lake and up to 10 metres deep in places. The Environment Agency is investigating a number of possible causes for the fish kill. The most likely scenario is that the deaths are due to a natural phenomenon rather than pollution but all possible causes will be investigated before any conclusions are drawn.

Myles Robinson, Fisheries Technical Officer for the Environment Agency said:

“It’s always devastating when fish die on this scale and we are working closely with the fishery owner to try and figure out exactly what happened to cause the deaths. Palmarsh Fishery is a very large fishing lake and the problem could be a very localised one, which makes it difficult to establish the exact cause. We are working to boost oxygen levels in the lake to give remaining fish a better chance of survival and will continue investigating the cause of this incident until we are satisfied that we know what happened.

“We welcome the initial report of the incident, which gave us the opportunity to take swift action to prevent the fish deaths being even more widespread. If anyone sees fish in distress or is aware of another environmental incident, we urge them to contact us immediately on our incident hotline 0800 80 70 60.”

+ More

Agricultural company fined for river pollution
Agricultural company pollutes a tributary of the Whilton branch of the River Nene

A Long Buckby company, Charles Jackson & Co Ltd, has been fined £14,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £5,546 for polluting a tributary of the Whilton branch of the River Nene with oil and grain from their site at White Barn, Station Road in February this year.

Daventry Magistrates Court heard today (Mon) that the pollution had affected almost 400m of the stream affecting amenity, water quality and the invertebrate population.

Mrs Anne-Lise McDonald, prosecuting, said that the incident in February was not an isolated breach and the company had been sent a warning letter for a similar incident in 2005 and a further one in 2006 for a vegetable oil incident.

‘There was evidence of poor management on site with liquids and feedstuffs being stored with inadequate provision to prevent pollution,’ she said.

Magistrates were told that the incident came to light when a pollution was reported to the Environment Agency and on investigation officers described finding a red substance in the water and a smell of fuel.

They traced it back to the Charles Jackson premises where there were oil puddles on the ground, oil tanks with no raised areas around them and drains below the level of the oil tanks. They put booms across the water course to stop the oil moving further downstream.

Officers also described seeing oil on the ground close to a generator and a surface water drain and a large amount of grain on the ground and in a gully drain.

Mrs McDonald said that while the officers were on site they saw two lorry trailers parked on a slope which were leaking brown liquid from the tailgates. ‘The site was very untidy in places and a number of containers around the site contained unidentified liquids.’

She said there was evidence that the pollution had been ongoing as there was fungus growing on the bed of the stream.

An Environment Agency biologist scored the quality of the water as very poor due to the oil and organic pollution caused by the grain.

Charles Jackson, Managing Director of the company, told Agency officers in March that since the incident the company had implemented an environmental management system which could deal with any accidental spillages of harmful substances and had tidied the site.

Following the incident the company had arranged for an oil contractor to remove 300 litres of engine and lubricating oil and 3,300 litres of aqueous liquids containing oil. The tanks had now been bunded.

After the hearing Environment Agency officer Bob Munroe said: ‘It is regrettable that that Charles Jackson & Co did not act on the pollution prevention advice given by the Environment Agency following the incidents in 2005 and 2006. This result today sends a clear message to businesses that we will prosecute persistent polluters of the environment.’

Pleaded guilty to:

1. On or about 17 February 2009 you did cause poisonous, noxious or polluting matter namely oil and grain to enter controlled waters, namely a tributary of the Whilton branch of the River Nene, at Long Buckby, Northamptonshire.

Contrary to section 85(1) and section 85(6) Water Resources Act 1991.

Fined £11,000

2. On or about 17 February 2009, you being a person who had custody or control of oil, did store oil in a container which was not situated in a secondary containment system which satisfied the requirements of Regulation 3(2)(c) of the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage)(England) Regulations 2001 in that the base and walls were not impermeable to water and oil.

Contrary to Regulations 3(2) and 9 of the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage)(England) Regulations 2001.

Fined £3,000

 
 

Source: Environment Agency – United Kingdom
Press consultantship
All rights reserved

 
 
 
 

 

Universo Ambiental  
 
 
 
 
     
SEJA UM PATROCINADOR
CORPORATIVO
A Agência Ambiental Pick-upau busca parcerias corporativas para ampliar sua rede de atuação e intensificar suas propostas de desenvolvimento sustentável e atividades que promovam a conservação e a preservação dos recursos naturais do planeta.

 
 
 
 
Doe Agora
Destaques
Biblioteca
     
Doar para a Agência Ambiental Pick-upau é uma forma de somar esforços para viabilizar esses projetos de conservação da natureza. A Agência Ambiental Pick-upau é uma organização sem fins lucrativos, que depende de contribuições de pessoas físicas e jurídicas.
Conheça um pouco mais sobre a história da Agência Ambiental Pick-upau por meio da cronologia de matérias e artigos.
O Projeto Outono tem como objetivo promover a educação, a manutenção e a preservação ambiental através da leitura e do conhecimento. Conheça a Biblioteca da Agência Ambiental Pick-upau e saiba como doar.
             
       
 
 
 
 
     
TORNE-SE UM VOLUNTÁRIO
DOE SEU TEMPO
Para doar algumas horas em prol da preservação da natureza, você não precisa, necessariamente, ser um especialista, basta ser solidário e desejar colaborar com a Agência Ambiental Pick-upau e suas atividades.

 
 
 
 
Compromissos
Fale Conosco
Pesquise
     
Conheça o Programa de Compliance e a Governança Institucional da Agência Ambiental Pick-upau sobre políticas de combate à corrupção, igualdade de gênero e racial, direito das mulheres e combate ao assédio no trabalho.
Entre em contato com a Agência Ambiental Pick-upau. Tire suas dúvidas e saiba como você pode apoiar nosso trabalho.
O Portal Pick-upau disponibiliza um banco de informações ambientais com mais de 35 mil páginas de conteúdo online gratuito.
             
       
 
 
 
 
 
Ajude a Organização na conservação ambiental.