02/03/2005 - Vegetable
washings polluted a tributary of the Great
River Ouse for many months and the company
responsible failed to do enough to stop it.
The waste liquid was several times more polluting
than untreated sewage.
Today (Wed) Doug Clark Produce Ltd of Outwell,
near Wisbech admitted two offences under the
Water Resources Act of 1991 and was fined
a total of £16,000 and ordered to pay
full Environment Agency costs of £1,186.
Wisbech magistrates were told that the tributary
was black, stagnant and smelly with white
scum on the surface and even though environment
officers had traced the pollution to the company
and told them to use alternative methods of
disposal, the pollution continued.
Doug Clark Produce processes vegetables at
its premises in The Cottons and has a consent
to discharge clean water from its sewage treatment
plant into the tributary but it failed to
ensure that the water was clean enough.
The company told Agency officers that a pump
in the treatment plant was not working and
would be replaced. But the pollution continued.
They were told to find alternative methods
of disposing of vegetable washings but did
not do so until three months after the pollution
was first reported in August 2003 when they
used tankers to empty the holding tanks daily.
This had to be increased to twice daily four
months later in January but in April there
were still complaints about the state of the
stream when it was reported to be cloudy and
orange upstream while it continued to be black
and stagnant downstream.
A temporary dam was placed in the stream
by the company and contaminated water caught
behind it was removed by a local waste contractor.
The discharge pipe was also capped off. A
week later the dam failed and had to be repaired.
On a final visit to the site in April last
year an Environment agency officer found that
the stretch of water next to the factory was
almost dry which revealed a layer of thick
black sludge.
Although the pollution was localised, the
impact on the environment and on local residents
was serious. Waste liquid several times more
polluting than untreated sewage was being
discharged into the stream.
After the hearing Environment Manager, John
Orr said: ‘Businesses have to act responsibly
to ensure that their activities do not harm
the environment.
‘In this case, the tardiness of Doug Clark
Produce Ltd in correcting a fault in their
treatment works allowed a grossly polluting
effluent to enter the watercourse over a protracted
period of time and this is simply unacceptable.
‘We will not hesitate in taking action in
cases like this where companies fall short
in their responsibilities to safeguard the
environment.’
Doug Clark Produce Ltd admitted:
On or about 5 November 2003 you did cause
trade or sewage effluent to be discharged
into controlled waters, namely a tributary
of the River Great Ouse at Fenway, The Cottons,
Outwell, Wisbech in the County of Cambridgeshire.
Contrary to s85(3) Water Resources Act 1991.
Fined £6,000
On or about 7 April 2004 you did cause trade
or sewage effluent to be discharged into controlled
waters, namely a tributary of the River Great
Ouse at Fenway, The Cottons, Outwell, Wisbech
in the County of Cambridgeshire.
Contrary to s85(3) Water Resources Act 1991.
Fined £10,000.
