22/03/2006 -Yesterday (20 March
2005) Elwyn Griffiths, trading as JA & O Griffiths
and Sons of Ellerdine, near Telford, Shropshire,
pleaded guilty at Market Drayton Magistrates to
two charges relating to the pollution of the Soulton
Brook.
The charges were brought by the
Environment Agency under Section 85 of the Water
Resources Act 1991. Mr Griffiths was fined £5,000
and ordered to pay full costs of £3,568.51.
Speaking after the case, Jason
Jones, an Environment Agency officer involved in
the investigation, said: "Organic matter such
as chicken manure can seriously damage water quality
and affect wildlife if it gets into a watercourse.
Individuals and companies must control potential
pollutants in a safe manner to minimise environmental
damage. We will not hesitate to take legal action
against those who do not take appropriate measures".
Representing the Environment Agency,
Dermot Scully told the court that Mr Griffiths and
his brother ran an egg production and processing
unit called the Oaklands.
The operation’s barns house approximately
1.6 million hens and fans are used to ventilate
the sheds. The fans suck debris including meal,
manure and dust onto the roofs of the buildings
and yard areas. Rain water picks up this material
and the contaminated water enters the site’s surface-water
drainage system and, a small, lagoon located to
the south of the site.
On 6 December 2004 the Environment
Agency received a report of pollution entering a
tributary of the Soulton Brook. An Environment Agency
officer attended the site and observed a cloudy
liquid flowing into a concrete chamber located near
the brook.
A sample of this liquid was taken
and later test results indicated that the substance
was high in ammonia and other substances and had
the potential to remove oxygen from the water. Significant
contamination of the brook was observed up to 1500m
downstream of the Oaklands
Extensive investigations confirmed
that the lagoon at the Oaklands was connected to
the concrete chamber and the tributary of the Soulton
Brook via underground pipework.
On 31 January 2005 two Environment
Agency officers, acting on information received
from a member of the public, attended a tributary
of the Soulton Brook. The watercourse smelt of chicken
manure, was cloudy and grey in colour and contained
significant amounts of sewage fungus.
Subsequent investigations confirmed
that the source of contamination was the same as
that identified during the investigation carried
out during the week commencing 06 December 2004.
In mitigation, the defendant’s
solicitor, Mr Whitehouse said the company had experienced
difficulties obtaining planning permission for a
system to treat the contaminated site drainage.
