An Environment Agency
Flood Risk Management Project has brought
a number of benefits to a local nature reserve
at Wychall Reservoir, where the Friends
of Kings Norton Nature Reserve, a local
volunteer group, are staging an Open Day
on 11 September 2010.
Environment Agency staff
will be available at the Open Day to answer
questions and explain what we have been
doing to improve flood safety for the community
and enhance the environment for wildlife.
Kings Norton Local Nature
Reserve is managed by Birmingham City Council
Park and Nature Conservation Division but
the operation and maintenance of Wychall
Flood Storage Reservoir, which forms part
of the nature reserve, is the responsibility
of the Environment Agency.
Last February (2010),
we began work on a flood defence project
to improve the reservoir dam. This was completed
at a cost of £350,000, but we allocated
a further £17,500 to create a better
place for local people and wildlife.
To allay any concerns
about the impact of our work on the ecological
value of the nature reserve, we worked closely
with the council and the volunteers, agreeing
with them beforehand what we planned to
do.
The modified section
of the dam has been sown with wildflower
seed mix to create a wildflower meadow.
We have created three
interconnecting scrapes (shallow pools)
on the high ground where they do not affect
the flood storage area, in an area that
was predominantly nettles and thistle. These
scrapes fill when it rains and allow water
to be kept at about 30cm deep. Excess water
spills into each one consecutively before
finally discharging through an existing
but previously drying reedbed into the flood
storage area.
We also created three
further scrapes which, when they fill with
rainwater, are likely to be marshy rather
than permanently wet.
These scrapes and ponds
will benefit a wide range of aquatic insects
and plants that in turn will provide feeding
habitat for smaller wading birds, such as
snipe and redshank in the winter and bats
during the summer months.
Previously, large debris
from the River Rea lodged in the silty area
of the open water, making it unsightly and
difficult to remove. At the request of the
volunteer group we embedded steel poles
in the channel where water flows from the
river into the flood storage reservoir to
prevent this happening in future. These
steel poles will also provide an opportunity
for decoration or artwork in conjunction
with local schools and the community.
We will be funding the
planting of trees to compensate for those
lost during the work on the dam. The felled
trees and chippings were used by the volunteers
for environmental enhancement activities
in the area.
Technical Specialist
Chris Farmer says “We used our own expertise
and our own workforce, the Operations Delivery
Team, to carry out the work at Wychall Reservoir.
This kept costs down and enabled the project
to benefit from our local knowledge. The
result is improved flood protection for
the local community and enhanced habitat
in this local nature reserve, which is a
haven for both people and wildlife.”
Phil Evans, part of
the community team supporting the project,
said: “The Friends of Kings Norton Nature
Reserve appreciate being a partner in the
project which will increase local biodiversity."
+ More
Environment Agency prosecutes
Ferry Lane car breaker and land owner
Rainham car breakers
yard prosecuted for operating without a
permit.
A site owner and his
tenant, the operator of a car breakers site
in Rainham, have today been sentenced at
court after their illegal activities caused
at least four fires and allowed car parts
to fall in the river close to Rainham Marshes.
Festus Odonowo was given
a 12-month community service order and ordered
to do unpaid work for 100 hours after he
pleaded guilty on 18 August 2010 to three
offences:
1. Causing the deposit of controlled waste
including vehicles and vehicle parts on
the land at 2b Ferry Lane South, Rainham
when there was no management licence in
force
2. Treating the waste without a waste management
licence and
3. Operating a regulated facility without
an environmental permit.
John Palmer, the owner
of the site, pleaded guilty on 20 August
2010 to the offence of knowingly permitting
the deposit of controlled waste, namely
vehicles and vehicles parts, at the site
when there was no waste management licence
in force. He was fined £10,000 and
ordered to pay prosecution costs of £17,000.
Basildon Crown Court
heard that Mr Odonowo operated an illegal
car breakers yard at the site, where infrastructure
was completely inadequate for that type
of operation. The activities on the site
posed a significant risk to the local environment
and caused a number of fires. Parts and
engines, which should have been stored on
impermeable surface with adequate drainage,
were left on unprepared ground which meant
that oil would seep into the earth. Vehicles
and car parts were not stored safely and
often fell over the site boundary into the
local brook.
During an interview
under caution, Mr Odonowo said his business
involved receiving polluted waste vehicles
and breaking them up on site so that some
of the parts could be exported to Africa.
The oils and coolant were disposed of in
the drain outside the site.
Mr Palmer owned part
of the site since 16th August 2006, and
the rest in 2008, and rented the land to
Festus Odonowo who carried out the illegal
activities. Mr Palmer was made aware of
the illegal activities by the Environment
Agency and was present on some of the occasions
when the Environment Agency visited the
site. He failed to attend an interview with
the Environment Agency about the site.
Between 2005 and 2008,
the Environment Agency served various notices
to both Mr Palmer and Mr Odonowo to halt
the car breaking activities on the site,
to no avail.. The unregulated activities
caused severe disruption to neighbouring
business especially when the Fire Brigade
had to be called out to deal with fires
at the site. This case was assisted by a
co- ordinated multi-agency operation in
June 2008. The operator has ceased all waste
activities at the site. The waste vehicles
and car parts have been cleared from the
site although a considerable amount of tyres
still remain on the site.
Environmental crime officer, Kim Egbokhan
said: “The sentences of the court send a
clear message to illegal operators that
the courts will not tolerate violations
of the environmental regulations..Cars contain
liquids which have the potential to harm
the environment if they are not disposed
of correctly. We issue environmental permits
for car breakers so that we can work with
them to ensure they operate in a way that
won’t harm the environment. Sites that do
not have environmental permits are a real
threat to our environment and human health.
“This site was close
to Rainham Marshes nature reserve and so
posed a very real threat to the natural
environment. The fact that vehicle parts
fell into the brook meant that there was
also a risk of contamination even further
afield, as contaminants could be swept downstream
of the site by the flowing water.
”The fires that occurred
on site were further proof of the dangers
associated with these sorts of illegal operations.”
Ends
Notes to editors
. The deposit, treating,
keeping or disposing of controlled waste
is the subject of the environmental permitting
system. The objective of the environmental
permitting system is to ensure that permitted
facilities do not cause pollution of the
environment and or, harm to human health..
The permit will seek to achieve these aims
by conditions specifying the management
and control systems for the facility.
. Section 33 (6) of
the 11000 Act creates a statutory offence
where a person contravenes any condition
of a waste management licence, as it was
known prior to 6th April 2008.
A person who commits
an offence under Section 33 (6) by virtue
of Section 33 (8) is liable, on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding £50,000
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
6 months, or to both, or on conviction on
indictment to an unlimited fine or imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to
both.
. Regulation 38 (1)
(b) of the 2007 Regulations came into force
on 6th April 2008 and creates a statutory
offence where a person operates a regulated
facility without or contravenes any environmental
permit condition.
. A person who commits
an offence under Regulation 38 (1) (b) prior
to 26th January 2009 is by virtue of Regulation
39 (1) liable, on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding £20,000 and from
26th January 2009 to a fine not exceeding
£50,000 or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 6 months, or to both, or on
conviction on indictment to an unlimited
fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
5 years, or to both.
Advice and guidance
regarding compliance with the regulatory
regime is available on the Environment Agency
website.
