Environment Agency teams
are working to save fish and eels and figure
out what has killed approximately 500 fish
at Palmarsh Fishery, Hythe, since yesterday
(Monday 26 October).
Environment Agency teams
are working to save fish and eels and figure
out what has killed approximately 500 fish
at Palmarsh Fishery, Hythe, since yesterday
(Monday 26 October). The Environment Agency
was called to the 55 acre lake following
reports of hundreds of dead fish of a range
of different species and sizes. Environment
Management and Fisheries officers visited
the site and immediately deployed aeration
equipment to boost oxygen levels in the
huge lake.
Officers also took a
series of samples of the water from various
areas of the lake. The Environment Agency’s
Analysis and Reporting team is analysing
the samples to try to establish the exact
cause of the fish deaths. They are looking
to see if there are algae in the samples
as they can change conditions in lakes which
can lead to fish deaths.
The private fishing
lake, next to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch
Railway is a very big lake and up to 10
metres deep in places. The Environment Agency
is investigating a number of possible causes
for the fish kill. The most likely scenario
is that the deaths are due to a natural
phenomenon rather than pollution but all
possible causes will be investigated before
any conclusions are drawn.
Myles Robinson, Fisheries
Technical Officer for the Environment Agency
said:
“It’s always devastating
when fish die on this scale and we are working
closely with the fishery owner to try and
figure out exactly what happened to cause
the deaths. Palmarsh Fishery is a very large
fishing lake and the problem could be a
very localised one, which makes it difficult
to establish the exact cause. We are working
to boost oxygen levels in the lake to give
remaining fish a better chance of survival
and will continue investigating the cause
of this incident until we are satisfied
that we know what happened.
“We welcome the initial
report of the incident, which gave us the
opportunity to take swift action to prevent
the fish deaths being even more widespread.
If anyone sees fish in distress or is aware
of another environmental incident, we urge
them to contact us immediately on our incident
hotline 0800 80 70 60.”
+ More
Agricultural company
fined for river pollution
Agricultural company pollutes a tributary
of the Whilton branch of the River Nene
A Long Buckby company,
Charles Jackson & Co Ltd, has been fined
£14,000 and ordered to pay full costs
of £5,546 for polluting a tributary
of the Whilton branch of the River Nene
with oil and grain from their site at White
Barn, Station Road in February this year.
Daventry Magistrates
Court heard today (Mon) that the pollution
had affected almost 400m of the stream affecting
amenity, water quality and the invertebrate
population.
Mrs Anne-Lise McDonald,
prosecuting, said that the incident in February
was not an isolated breach and the company
had been sent a warning letter for a similar
incident in 2005 and a further one in 2006
for a vegetable oil incident.
‘There was evidence
of poor management on site with liquids
and feedstuffs being stored with inadequate
provision to prevent pollution,’ she said.
Magistrates were told
that the incident came to light when a pollution
was reported to the Environment Agency and
on investigation officers described finding
a red substance in the water and a smell
of fuel.
They traced it back
to the Charles Jackson premises where there
were oil puddles on the ground, oil tanks
with no raised areas around them and drains
below the level of the oil tanks. They put
booms across the water course to stop the
oil moving further downstream.
Officers also described
seeing oil on the ground close to a generator
and a surface water drain and a large amount
of grain on the ground and in a gully drain.
Mrs McDonald said that
while the officers were on site they saw
two lorry trailers parked on a slope which
were leaking brown liquid from the tailgates.
‘The site was very untidy in places and
a number of containers around the site contained
unidentified liquids.’
She said there was evidence
that the pollution had been ongoing as there
was fungus growing on the bed of the stream.
An Environment Agency
biologist scored the quality of the water
as very poor due to the oil and organic
pollution caused by the grain.
Charles Jackson, Managing
Director of the company, told Agency officers
in March that since the incident the company
had implemented an environmental management
system which could deal with any accidental
spillages of harmful substances and had
tidied the site.
Following the incident
the company had arranged for an oil contractor
to remove 300 litres of engine and lubricating
oil and 3,300 litres of aqueous liquids
containing oil. The tanks had now been bunded.
After the hearing Environment
Agency officer Bob Munroe said: ‘It is regrettable
that that Charles Jackson & Co did not
act on the pollution prevention advice given
by the Environment Agency following the
incidents in 2005 and 2006. This result
today sends a clear message to businesses
that we will prosecute persistent polluters
of the environment.’
Pleaded guilty to:
1. On or about 17 February
2009 you did cause poisonous, noxious or
polluting matter namely oil and grain to
enter controlled waters, namely a tributary
of the Whilton branch of the River Nene,
at Long Buckby, Northamptonshire.
Contrary to section
85(1) and section 85(6) Water Resources
Act 1991.
Fined £11,000
2. On or about 17 February
2009, you being a person who had custody
or control of oil, did store oil in a container
which was not situated in a secondary containment
system which satisfied the requirements
of Regulation 3(2)(c) of the Control of
Pollution (Oil Storage)(England) Regulations
2001 in that the base and walls were not
impermeable to water and oil.
Contrary to Regulations
3(2) and 9 of the Control of Pollution (Oil
Storage)(England) Regulations 2001.
Fined £3,000
