A Co. Tyrone farmer pleaded guilty and was convicted at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court today (Monday, June 9) in relation to a water pollution offence.
Harry Brown (62), Lurganeden Road, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty and was fined £1,500 plus a £15 offenders levy for a pollution offence that had impacted the Claggan River – a tributary of the Ballinderry River which flows into Lough Neagh.
Dungannon Magistrates’ Court heard that Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) water quality inspectors responded to a water pollution incident that took place between June 12 and June 13 last year.
The NIEA inspectors discovered that “dark grey coloured agricultural effluent was flowing along a ditch, alongside the Pomeroy Road, before discharging to the Claggan River”.
The court was also informed that the inspectors “traced the flow of effluent to farm premises at Lurganeden Road”.
Brown, who was present on the farm, told the inspectors that he had been cleaning out one of the poultry houses.
Dungannon Magistrates’ Court also heard that a “nearby wooded area was inspected and dark grey coloured agricultural effluent was observed to be actively flowing through that area, and then entering land drainage pipes, before discharge to the waterway”.
Pollution
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”.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) it is an offence under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 to “make a polluting discharge to a waterway”.
Water pollution management in Northern Ireland has been divided into nine areas.
Each of the nine areas is staffed by an environmental health (rivers) officer (EHRO) or senior water quality inspector (SWQI) and a number of water quality inspectors (WQIs) who act as field agents on behalf of DAERA.
If a pollution incident is reported to DAERA or is discovered during its work, the pollution response team “will find and stop the source of the pollution, identify the polluter and when necessary collect enough evidence to secure a prosecution”.
The department has also advised that if anyone wants to report a pollution incident they can call a 24-hour NIEA incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
