Severn Trent fined for breaching environmental permit condition
Severn Trent has pleaded guilty to breaching the condition of an environmental permit following the discharge of ammonia from sewage treatment works in Bishop’s Castle.
The water company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3878.36 in costs, along with a £15 victim surcharge at Telford Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The charge was brought by the Environment Agency following the discharge between 25 March 2010 and 25 March 2011.
The operation of the Severn Trent Water Bishop's Castle sewage treatment works is authorised by an environmental permit. A condition of the permit states that the discharge from the sewage treatment works should not contain more than 10mg/l of ammonia between October and April inclusive and 5 mg/l at all other times.
Twelve samples were taken at Bishop's Castle Sewage Treatment Works over a 365 day period and three of those samples were above the set ammonia limit. Therefore one quarter of the samples taken failed to meet the standard required by the permit.
All sewage treatment works must meet the discharge limits for harmful substances in their environmental permits at least 95% of the time in order to maintain the quality of the watercourse into which they discharge.
Speaking after the case, Adam Shipp an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said:
“We take cases of pollution to watercourses very seriously due to the environmental damage that can be caused. In this case, Severn Trent Water fell short of their responsibilities to properly manage and maintain their sewage treatment works which led to higher levels of ammonia being discharged to the watercourse. As an organisation we will not hesitate in prosecuting individuals or, as in this case large multinational companies, in order to protect our environment. We are now working closely with Severn Trent Water, local businesses and the local agricultural community to improve water quality standards locally.”
Severn Trent Water apologised for the breach of their permit and admitted that there had been management failings at the works. They said that the treatment works had also been affected by the cold weather in the winter of 2011 and that they had problems treating effluent from a local abattoir, which subsequently closed.
