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Severn Trent fined for oil pollution offence
2nd July 2004
On 28 June 2004 Severn Trent Water Ltd pleaded guilty at Nuneaton Magistrates Court to three charges relating to it causing polluting matter, namely water contaminated with diesel/fuel oil, to enter an unnamed tributary of the River Anker during April and May 2003.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991. The company was fined £5,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.00.
Speaking after the case, Jan Cope, an Environment Officer involved in the investigation, said: “Water companies have a responsibility to ensure their outfalls and discharges do not pose a threat to the environment. When a pollution is recurring, the Agency expects sewerage undertakers to investigate the situation to get to the cause of the problem and then adopt necessary measures to deal with it.”
For the Agency, Virginia Williams told the court this involved incidents at the Attleborough Fields industrial estate in Nuneaton. on the 34 metre channel, leading from the site, a controlled watercourse that carries surface water to the River Anker.
Between November 1992 and July 1998, there were 27 reported incidents of oil being discharged from the industrial estate into the River Anker. In order to minimise the flow of oil from the estate, a wooden structure to catch the oil was installed in the channel in 1996 and a second in 1997.
However, As a result of these incidents continuing, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, acting as agents for Severn Trent Water Ltd installed, in 1998 a structure to intercept oil before it reached the channel. The structure is designed to hold 250,000 litres of contaminated surface water during periods of heavy rain. If water exceeds this level, the rainwater will automatically by-pass the structure and flow into the river.
Between 1998 and December 2002 a further nine incidents of oil entering the watercourse were reported to the Agency. For each incident, Environment Agency officers attended the scene, confirmed the presence of oil in the watercourse notified Severn Trent Water and carried out clear up work.
In July 2001, following three pollution incidents, an Environment Agency officer met with representatives from Severn Trent Water to express concern over the situation. Severn Trent Water admitted there had been a break down in the interceptor maintenance programme after taking over responsibility from Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. However, further incidents occurred during 2002.
On 28 January 2003, three members of the public reported to the Environment Agency oil on the River Anker. An Agency Environment Officer attended the scene and traced the source of the pollution to the outfall of Severn Trent"s interceptor. Severn Trent Water officers were informed and clean-up operations were carried out.
On 6 March 2003, a letter was sent to Severn Trent Water pointing out that an offence of polluting the watercourse had been committed and that any further incidents would result in formal action.
On 12 March 2003 a member of the public spotted an oily sheen on the river. The incident was reported to the Agency and an Environment Agency officer attended. The officer went to the outlet of the interceptor and found oil on the water. She found no oil when she inspected upstream of the outlet.
Severn Trent Water were notified of the incident and its officers attended. Samples and photographs showing the extent of the contamination were taken.
On April 29 2003, a member of the public walking her dog noted a strong petroley/oil smell, as well as signs of oil in the river. They reported the situation to the Environment Agency. An Agency officer attended the outfall on 30 April 2003 and again identified that oil was in the water. Again, there was no sign of oil being present in the river upstream of the outfall. Samples were taken and analysis revealed that diesel/gas fuel oil was present on the watercourse
On the evening of 30 April 2003, a member of the public noted a petrol smell and spotted signs of oil on the river.
On 16 May 2003, a member of the public spotted oil on the river. He reported the incident to the Environment Agency and on 19 May 2003 an Agency officer attending the outfall found evidence of oil on the water. Again samples were taken, and analysis indicated the presence of diesel/gas fuel oil on the watercourse.
On 23 May 2003, a member of the public spotted oil on the river for a considerable distance and reported this to the Agency. An Agency officer attended the scene on the same day, observing signs of oil being in the channel. At the time it was raining heavily and the officer could clearly see water contaminated with oil emerging from the outfall.
Agency investigations revealed that the interceptor had to be altered in 1999 and 2004, and also that it was designed to serve a catchment area of 30 hectares. It does in fact serve an area of 55 hectares and it appeared that it could not cope with the volume of water passing into the interceptor.
In mitigation, Mark Scoggins, for STW said: “The root cause of the discharges of oil was due to illegal discharges from traders on the industrial estate into the system that Severn Trent Water couldn"t trace or to high river levels due to rainfall which caused the interceptor to operate in by-pass mode. Severn Trent Water had continued to co-operate with the Agency and actively look for a solution to the cause of the problem at a substantial cost to the company.”
Copyright 2004 The Environment Agency
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The intellectual property in the above article is the property of The Environment Agency and is reproduced in accordance with The Environment Agency’s Notice and Rights of Obligation, a full copy of which may be viewed online at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/other/help/196644/?version=1&lang=_e
