Rachel Fielding - 2-Oct-2007
- Environment Agency staff will be out and
about across the North West on 3 October
as part of a training exercise to practice
dealing with a major flooding incident.
The exercise is based on a flood scenario
in which both office and field based staff
will respond as if it was a real flood incident.
Over 100 members of staff will be involved
in the exercise that will test procedures.
As part of the exercise, flood defence measures
will activated across the region including
Didsbury, Winsford, Pendlebury, Preston,
Carlisle, Appleby, Southport and Glasson
Dock.
Tony Dean, Environment Agency North West
Regional Director, said: “Exercises like
this are extremely important for preparing
our staff and practicing our procedures
before a real event. People should not be
alarmed if they see our staff manning defences,
operating sluice gates or checking grids.
“Preparation is key to dealing with a flood
event so it’s important that people find
out if they are at risk from flooding and
take steps to protect themselves.”
To find out if you are at risk of flooding
and the steps you can take to prepare yourself
in advance of a flood, call the Environment
Agency’s Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or visit
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline
Recycling firm fined £20,000 for
escaped litter
Francesca Glyn-Jones - 1-Oct-2007 - A recycling
firm was fined a total £20,000 today
(Monday) after large amounts of litter escaped
its premises and littered the local area.
South East Northumberland Recycling Limited
(SENREC), of West Sleekburn Industrial Estate,
West Sleekburn, Bedlington, was also told
to pay costs of £701 to the Environment
Agency, which brought the case.
The company was fined at Bedlington Magistrates’
Court after pleading guilty to two offences
of breaching conditions of its waste management
licence.
Trevor Cooper, prosecuting for the Environment
Agency, told the court how the Environment
Agency does regular inspections of SENREC’s
site to ensure that it complies with terms
of its waste management licence.
SENREC holds this licence for its recycling
and composting centre at West Sleekburn
Industrial Estate. This licence states that
all waste must be deposited, handled and
stored within SENREC’s building, with the
exception of loose glass, baled cans and
loose cans, which can be kept outside in
designated bays. If litter escapes from
the site, it must be retrieved by the end
of the working day.
On October 11, 2006 the company was given
a warning because bales of waste were found
outside, and a second warning was issued
on October 26, 2006 for large amounts of
litter around the yard.
On January 31, 2007, Environment Agency
officers went to the site and found large
amounts of loose paper, card and plastics
blowing around. Plastic bags and paper were
being blown out of the yard and onto surrounding
land, on verges, in bushes and trees. Bales
of paper, card and waste were being stored
outside, and some had split causing litter
to escape.
Despite these problems, officers saw vehicles
still coming onto the site to deposit more
waste.
When officers returned the following day
at 8.15am, waste that had escaped was still
littering the area.
In interview, the company was fully co-operative
and accepted breach of its licence. They
said they had taken on an additional contract
with a council, but did not have the storage
capacity for all of the extra waste. The
weather at the time had been very windy,
and there had been damage to a door so the
wind had blown waste out of the building.
In mitigation, SENREC Ltd said it had now
installed cameras to monitor the site, and
they are using an additional storage facility
to store the extra waste. They have spent
£30,000 to replace the doors to the
building on site.
In court, a company spokesperson apologised
on behalf of the company, and said that
SENREC Ltd was there to help, not hinder,
the environment.
The magistrates took into account the guilty
plea, and that the company had co-operated
with the Environment Agency, but felt that
the offences were committed negligently.
They also stressed that the company had
previously received two warnings.
Speaking after the case, environment officer
Richard Salmon said: “This case highlights
just how important it is for companies to
stick to the terms of their waste management
licence, so that they operate without causing
harm to the local environment.”
SENREC Ltd was fined £10,000 for
each of the following offences:
1. On 31st January 2007 did breach a Waste
Management Licence EAWML64022 (as subsequently
varied) at West Sleekburn Composting and
Recycling Centre, Bedlington, in that waste
was not stored either in a building or a
designated bay.
Contrary to Section 33(6) of the Environmental
Protection Act 11000.
2. On 1st February 2007 did breach a Waste
Management Licence EAWML64022 (as subsequently
varied) at West Sleekburn Composting and
Recycling Centre, Bedlington, in that litter
that had escaped from the site on 31st January
2007 had not been retrieved by the end of
the working day.
Contrary to Section 33(6) of the Environmental
Protection Act 11000.
+ More
Environment Agency teams help to lay path
to Malton park success
Francesca Glyn-Jones - 1-Oct-2007 - A team
of volunteers from the Environment Agency
will be helping to deck out a new Malton
park with 300 yards of woodland pathway.
Around a dozen officers from the flood
management teams based at the Environment
Agency’s York office will be spending October
2 working on the Castle Garden Project in
Malton.
Their task is to create a pathway made
up of wooden logs with bark chippings in
the centre, which will stretch from one
entrance to another.
The Environment Agency’s Operations Delivery
team, which carries out the organisation’s
work on the ground, has made the task easier
though by preparing the area beforehand.
Five officers have already spent a day
of voluntary work, clearing vegetation and
levelling the ground to make way for the
two-metre wide path.
Environment Agency flood officer Di Keal
helped to set up the Castle Garden Project,
and organised tomorrow’s event.
She said: “This is a great opportunity
to help improve the area for people in Malton.
The Environment Agency encourages staff
to carry out voluntary work which will benefit
the environment. The Castle Garden Project
fitted the bill, so the flood team decided
to ditch their office work for a day and
do something about it.”
The path-laying is expected to take two
days and the flood team plans to return
to the site for another day of voluntary
work to finish off the job.
The Castle Garden Project has been set
up by the Derwent Riverside Project which
aims to create a five-acre public park next
to Orchard Fields, Malton.
