11/08/2005 - Gareth Davies
of Llancayo Farm, Usk, Monmouthshire, Director
of Usk Valley Environmental Services Ltd (UVES)
was fined £4,000 at Blackwood Magistrates'
Court earlier this week (25.07.05), after
pleading guilty to two pollution offences.
He was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs
to Environment Agency Wales who brought the
prosecution.
Davies was prosecuted under Section 85(1)
of the Water Resources Act 1991, for polluting
controlled waters with suspended solids, following
a discharge of surface water drainage from
their settlement lagoons. The offences occurred
at the Penallta Colliery site on 19 March
2004 and the 8 July 2004. Davies was fined
£2,000 on each offence.
On both occasions, the discharge caused significant
pollution in the Nant Cylla. This was following
a period of heavy rainfall in the incident
of 19 March 2004, and a plant driver breaching
a bund in the incident on 8 July 2005.
Operations by UVES have now stopped on site,
but the Agency will continue to maintain a
close working relationship and monitor future
activities on the site, Agency Environment
Officer Eleanor Smart commented: 'This is
an example of management failings concerning
surface water at a development site. Following
groundworks on site, contaminated waters were
not adequately contained and treated prior
to discharge. Fortunately there was no loss
of fish as a result of the incident. '
Our advice had not been fully implemented
and relatively simple precautions had not
been taken to reduce the problem and prevent
the pollution of the nearby watercourse. Pollution
prevention advice to remedy such problems
is freely available from our local Agency
office.'
