A 70-year-old man has been convicted and fined in court in Northern Ireland today (Monday, April 28) over an incident involving the pollution of a river with agricultural effluent.
Michael McCullagh, Gorticashel Road, Greencastle, Co Tyrone was convicted at Omagh Magistrates Court, under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 as amended.
McCullagh pleaded guilty and was fined £1,000 plus £15 Offenders Levy.
The court heard that on October 17, 2023, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) water quality inspectors responded to a report of water pollution impacting the Carnanransy Burn, a tributary of the Owenkillew River.
The inspectors discovered the entire width of the bed of the waterway was covered with fungal growth.
The source of pollution was traced upstream to a concrete pipe which was actively discharging agricultural effluent to the Carnanransy Burn. Upstream of the pipe, the waterway was visibly clean.
Agricultural pollution
On the farm, close to the silos, the inspectors observed agricultural effluent being directed towards a collection tank.
The collection tank was observed to be full and overflowing, resulting in dark coloured liquid entering an open drainage channel, which was connected to the concrete pipe noted to be discharging to the waterway.
As part of the investigation, a statutory sample of the discharge was collected and analysed.
The sample results indicated that the sample contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to aquatic life in a receiving waterway.
It is an offence under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (as amended by the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006) under Article 7(1)(a) to make a polluting discharge to a waterway.
