£26,000 penalty for silt pollution of Battlefield Brook
23rd May 2013
On 27 January 2012 the Environment Agency were called to deal with a report of a large quantity of silt in the Battlefield Brook.
Officers found that the brook was polluted for at least a mile with a large amount of silt, and levels of solid matter suspended in the water were over 250 times higher than normal. As far as a mile downstream, officers found levels of solids in the brook to be nearly 100 times higher than normal.
Officers quickly traced the source to a building site at Church Road, Catshill, where earthmoving equipment had been tracking through the brook and bulldozing the banks.
Investigations found all three companies had failed to take simple pollution prevention measures to prevent silt from entering the brook during their clearance works.
Poor judgement and failure to assess the risk, and then monitor the work being undertaken, were highlighted as contributing factors to the pollution.
Each company agreed that they had a part to play and had failed to adequately protect the brook.
On 21 May 2013, three companies pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates’ Court, to charges relating to the silt pollution of the Battlefield Brook, Catshill in Bromsgrove.
Cala Homes (Midlands) Limited and R M Contractors Limited were each fined £8000, and Matthew Lea (trading as Complete Tree Services) was fined £2000. All three companies were also ordered to pay £2,743.72 each in costs.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Regulation 38(1)(a) and Regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010.
Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: “We expect all contractors carrying out work near watercourses to undertake a full environmental risk assessment for the work they are undertaking. This had not been done and has resulted in today’s prosecution. This incident could have been easily avoided, as we are available to provide free advice to developers and contractors about what they need to do.”
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