A County Antrim construction business has been fined a total of £3,000, plus £109 court costs, for making three separate polluting discharges to a waterway.
The case was heard at Ballymena Magistrates' Court against W&J Taggart (Quarries) Limited this month. It was brought to light on 14 October 2008 when an official from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) visited the organisation and observed what appeared to be a polluting discharge coming from the quarry and entering the adjacent waterway - a tributary of the Killagan Water.
The site was revisited on 12 February 2009 and 8 July 2009 by other NIEA officials who both reported similar discharges from the quarry into the waterway. On inspection, the waterway was deemed to be polluted and samples taken confirmed that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life.
For more information see:
