River agency fined for pollution

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Pollution came from concrete waste

River watchdog the Environment Agency has been fined £7,500 for

polluting the River Exe, in Somerset.

It is the first time the organisation, which protects rivers, has

been prosecuted for water pollution in the 10 years since it was

created.

 

In September 2005, a sub-contractor building a flow-monitoring

station on the river inadvertently leaked toxic building waste into

the main tributary.

 

The pollution was the most serious " level one " type and killed 300

fish.

 

'Embarrassing matter'

 

Because the Environment Agency cannot prosecute itself, a local

landowner, Ian Cook, was given government permission to bring a

private prosecution.

 

After pleading guilty, the Environment Agency was fined £7,500 at

Exeter Crown Court and ordered to pay £1,466 costs.

 

This incident should never have happened

 

Judge Jeremy Griggs

The subcontractor, May Gurney, from Norwich was fined £27,500 and

£1,466 costs.

 

Judge Jeremy Griggs said: " It is surprising to find the Environment

Agency as a defendant in the dock.

 

" It is clearly for them a serious matter and in a sense an

embarrassing matter. "

 

'Sad day'

 

He put the pollution down to carelessness and said a significant

sanction had to be imposed to ensure environmental standards were

complied with.

 

At the time of the incident, those responsible at May Gurney had an

insufficient appreciation of environmental factors, he said.

 

The river was at its most vulnerable, with trout throughout the

system

 

Ian Cook

Mr Cook told the court: " The Environment Agency sets standards for

everyone else. When they fail there is surely greater culpability.

 

" The river was at its most vulnerable, with trout throughout the

system.

 

" Extra vigilance was needed. It is a sad day for the river. "

 

He said he saw fish go " belly up " when they swam in the polluted

water and he thought up to 900 may have died.

 

'Contracts lost'

 

Richard Banwell, for the agency, said both parties to the work at the

river understood clean water would be discharged and " neither

contemplated what occurred " .

 

He said the Environment Agency felt the fish had recovered but there

were a number of lessons to be learned and there was inadequate

supervision of the project.

 

Garrett Byrne, for May Gurney, said the company apologised to " each

and every affected owner " and was " thoroughly ashamed of itself to

find itself in court today " .

 

Three of the management team at the site were disciplined and the

company lost £3m in contracts because of the case, he said.