Plant Based News
March 2018
The ammonia reading was '80 times what you'd expect in a clean river supporting trout and salmon'.
Cattle dung polluted the stream.
The owners of a dairy farm in North Devon have been ordered to pay
£14,252 in fines and costs for polluting a stream with effluent, in a case
brought by the Environment Agency.
The agency received a report of pollution in the Colam Stream near
Muddiford, Barnstaple in May 2016.
The pollution was traced to nearby Collacott Farm where Richard Dallyn,
director of Dallyn’s Dairy Ltd, admitted there had been spillages the
previous day.
Dirty
According to the Environment Agancy, effluent from a dirty water lagoon
had been pumped into a field channel instead of being dispersed on the land
by sprayer.
Described as ‘thick with cattle dung,’ the dirty water was then allowed to
flow downhill and into the stream.
Officers also saw a slurry umbilical pipe across the stream. There were
signs a ‘significant discharge’ of effluent had occurred.
Slurry was visible on the riverbank, rocks and surrounding bushes suggesting
a coupling on the pipe had failed. There was also heavy algal growth and
sewage fungus in the stream that indicated a source of long term pollution
was present.
A 'slurry umbilical pipe' and other clues hinted at serious, persistent
pollution taking place (Photo: Environment Agency)
Pollution
Further checks revealed pollution was also coming from one of a series of
settlement ponds on the farm that had overflowed and was sending poor
quality water into the Colam Stream. As a precaution, the Environment Agency
alerted the owners of two fish farms downstream of Collacott Farm.
A clean river capable of supporting trout and salmon would be expected to
have an ammonia reading of approximately 0.25mg/litre. The ammonia level
downstream of the illegal discharge was 20.2mg/litre.
More than 600 metres of the stream was affected by a ‘chronic and
continuing’ pollution. In places the watercourse was ‘running grey’ with
large amount of silt and residue. Large colonies of ‘blood worms’, an
indicator of poor water quality, also were present.
History
A court heard there had been a history of pollution incidents at
Collacott Farm involving silage, slurry and dirty water run-off that had
resulted in warning letters and a caution from the Environment Agency.
Dallyn’s Dairy Ltd was fined £6,666 and ordered to pay £7,416 costs by
Barnstaple magistrates after pleading guilty to polluting the Colam Stream,
an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales)
Regulations.
The company was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170. The case was
heard on January 30, 2018.
Responsibilities
Sean McKay for the Environment Agency said: "The Environment Agency works
closely with farmers to ensure that they understand their responsibilities
towards the environment and that they comply with the relevant regulations.
"It will not hesitate to take action against farmers who take risks and fail
to put appropriate pollution prevention measures in place."
Number of animals killed in the world by the fishing, meat, dairy and egg industries, since you opened this webpage.
0 marine animals
0 chickens
0 ducks
0 pigs
0 rabbits
0 turkeys
0 geese
0 sheep
0 goats
0 cows / calves
0 rodents
0 pigeons/other birds
0 buffaloes
0 dogs
0 cats
0 horses
0 donkeys and mules
0 camels / camelids