NIW, Northland House, 3 Frederick Street, Belfast, was ordered to pay £1,000 plus £25 court costs on each of two counts of discharging polluting matter into a waterway, namely the Blackstaff Relief Culvert - a tributary of the River Lagan.
On 21 June 2007 a Water Quality Inspector, acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (formerly the Environment and Heritage Service), discovered the pollution incident affecting the Blackstaff Relief Culvert.
He traced the polluting discharge to Glenmachan Street Sewage Pumping Station where a discharge of untreated sewage was overflowing to the river. Statutory samples of the discharge from the culvert to the Lagan were taken.
On 19 September 2007, an inspector acting on behalf of the Department investigated a pollution incident also affecting the Blackstaff Relief Culvert. He identified the source as a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) at Fane Street where sewage was overflowing to the culvert.
Problems at this CSO had been brought to NIW’s attention three times during the previous fortnight. A statutory sample of the discharge from the overflow was taken.
Notes to Editors:
- The charge was brought under the Water (NI) Order 1999, Article 7(1)(a), “discharging polluting matter”.
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