A company has been fined £20,000 after polluting a stream during land spreading at a North East farm.
The Company based in South Witham, Lincolnshire pleaded guilty in December to breaching its environmental permit and polluting a tributary of the River Tees.
It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge of £4,430.
The Environment Agency explained that the Company had an environmental permit for mobile plant spreading at Greystones Farm. The operation should comply with the 'Code of Good Agricultural Practice' which requires weather conditions be assessed before spreading takes place and the activity will be carried out without harm to the environment.
In March 2017 a member of the public reported that a stream close to the farm was running black. The farm manager confirmed with the Environment Agency that eight loads of digestate had been spread on the field the previous day and the field appeared to be waterlogged.
When it was confirmed that outfalls from the field was discharging a black coloured liquid into the watercourse, the Company arranged for a tanker to remove the pools of digestate and rainwater that had accumulated in the field.
Checks on the company's Environment Management System showed there was no condition to check the weather forecast prior to spreading taking place, and the field record sheet had been incorrectly filled out.
The Company said the incident had resulted from a systems failure and was not committed deliberately or recklessly, and that immediate action was taken to prevent further harm by removing further liquid from the field. The Company's Environment Management System has been reviewed and updated and staff properly trained.
The company apologised for the breach and resulting pollution.
The Environment Agency's Land and Water Team in the North East led the investigation, they commented on the case that "permits are in place to protect the environment and our communities while also supporting businesses in their activities".
"Run off from land into our waters has a significant negative effect on the environment. The Environment Agency works hard to protect our environment and I hope this sends out a message to others that we take incidents such as this seriously and will take the necessary action against those flouting the conditions of their permit".
