Fermanagh district council fined for environmental offences

Fermanagh District Council was fined £20,000 plus analytical costs of £945.21 and court costs of £35 at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Wednesday 21st November 2007 for breaches of waste and water legislation.

Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) officers visited the Glassmullagh Landfill Site, Enniskillen, on 28 April 2004. Officers inspected the site and observed breaches in the waste management licence requiring leachate to be contained. As result leachate was discharging to a watercourse without a consent. Follow-up visits over the next two years found that problems to leachate management and discharges were ongoing This case has had a number of adjournments over the last two years. EHS staff, on a follow-up visit on 13 November 2007, observed leachate still being discharged to the watercourse.

Fermanagh District Council pleaded guilty to two charges under the Waste and Contaminated (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Council pleaded guilty and was fined for the following charges:

a. £10,000 for one charge of Article 4(6) of The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, contravention of any condition of a waste management licence.

b. £10,000 for one charge of Article 7(1)(a) of The Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, discharging or deposits of any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter so that it enters a waterway or water contained in any underground strata.

2. Leachate means any liquid percolating through deposited waste and emitted from or contained within a landfill as defined in the Landfill Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003. It typically contains high concentration of polluting substances.

3. At the time of the first visit Glassmullagh Landfill Site, a licensed waste management facility operated by Fermanagh District Council, was still operational and receiving waste. It has now closed but under the EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) there is a requirement to ensure that emissions such as leachate and landfill gas are properly treated as part of landfill closure procedures.

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