The Environment Agency (EA) has reminded farmers of the importance of reporting pollution incidents when farming following a situation in Cornwall where a spill of digestate resulted in the death of 1,610 fish.
The Cornish farmer responsible for the pollution incident, Norman Osborne was fined £215 after pleading guilty at Truro Magistrates Court for causing a water discharge activity, with an additional order to pay the EA’s costs of £3,550.
During court proceedings last Wednesday (May 13), EA officers stated that they responded to reports of dead fish in the River Ottery on May 22, 2022.
On arrival at Osborne’s farm near Warbstow, officers determined that an estimated 2,300gal of digestate had entered the watercourse from a tank on the farm.
Defense
The court heard that the defendant Osborne, 57, of Tobarn, Jacobstow, was transferring digestate from a tank to a tanker to spread on his farmland, when a connecting hose broke on the day of the pollution incident.
According to the EA, the spilled digestate ran down the road, allowing it to enter the nearby River Ottery.
EA officers claimed that this pollution incident was “exacerbated” by the farmer further washing the spilled digestate into the watercourse.
Following the incident, Osborne failed to report the digestate spill to the EA.
The consequences of such a pollution incident resulted in high ammonia levels and the presence of sludge and microplastics within the affected 3.5km of watercourse in River Ottery.
The EA investigation counted a total of 471 dead fish in the watercourse, however the true number is estimated to be 1,610, with fish such as Atlantic salmon, brown trout, and bullhead being killed as a result of the pollution.
During proceedings, the court were informed that even two years after the incident, fish populations within the affected watercourse “had still not recovered to historic levels”.
EA
Speaking on the incident, an spokesperson for the EA emphasised the “lasting damage” that the digestate spill had on the watercourse.
They said: “Osborne’s failure to swiftly report the incident to the Environment Agency exacerbated the significant impact of the spill; digestate is highly polluting and should be handled with great care.
“If a pollution does occur, farmers must contact us as soon as possible so we can provide them with guidance on mitigation or containment and take action to prevent further harm to the environment.”
EA outlined that digestate is a wet slurry-like material from the anaerobic digestion of waste food and other organic wastes which is used as a fertiliser.
“It is highly polluting and can have very high ammonia and nitrogen levels,” the agency added.