A Co Tyrone farmer has been convicted and fined £450 for water pollution.
Derek Henry (65) of Annaghone Road in Stewartstown was convicted on Monday at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court following a guilty plea.
The court was told that on 18 February 2020, a water quality inspector (WQI) acting on behalf of Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of pollution from an out-farm at Templereagh Road, Stewartstown.
The WQI observed mixed farm effluent overflowing a retaining wall from a slurry lagoon on the farm.
The discharge was observed flowing along a farm lane, across the Templereagh Road before entering an unnamed tributary of the Kingsmill River.
Procedure
In accordance with procedure, a statutory sample of the active discharge was collected, analysed and was found to contain polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA) said effluents of this nature enrich fungus coverage on the bed of the watercourse, which may lead to the destruction of fish spawning sites, as well as starving both fish and river invertebrates, on which fish feed, of oxygen.
A statutory sample of the active discharge from the farm was collected. \ David Ruffles
A DAERA spokesperson said effluents with high ammonia content are also directly toxic to fish life in receiving watercourses.
Mr Henry was fined and charged under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 as amended by the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 for the offence of making a polluting discharge to a waterway.
Read more
Farmers warned about slurry rules
Water quality trends leave farmers with work to do
A Co Tyrone farmer has been convicted and fined £450 for water pollution.
Derek Henry (65) of Annaghone Road in Stewartstown was convicted on Monday at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court following a guilty plea.
The court was told that on 18 February 2020, a water quality inspector (WQI) acting on behalf of Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of pollution from an out-farm at Templereagh Road, Stewartstown.
The WQI observed mixed farm effluent overflowing a retaining wall from a slurry lagoon on the farm.
The discharge was observed flowing along a farm lane, across the Templereagh Road before entering an unnamed tributary of the Kingsmill River.
Procedure
In accordance with procedure, a statutory sample of the active discharge was collected, analysed and was found to contain polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA) said effluents of this nature enrich fungus coverage on the bed of the watercourse, which may lead to the destruction of fish spawning sites, as well as starving both fish and river invertebrates, on which fish feed, of oxygen.
A statutory sample of the active discharge from the farm was collected. \ David Ruffles
A DAERA spokesperson said effluents with high ammonia content are also directly toxic to fish life in receiving watercourses.
Mr Henry was fined and charged under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 as amended by the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 for the offence of making a polluting discharge to a waterway.
Read more
Farmers warned about slurry rules
Water quality trends leave farmers with work to do
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: