Farming company Velcourt Ltd. has been fined for polluting a Somerset watercourse with dirty, ammonia-rich water, killing hundreds of fish.
The company, which manages and advises farms throughout Europe, pleaded guilty at North Somerset Magistrates Court on Monday (April 4).
Specifically, the company pleaded guilty to polluting a tributary of the Hardington Brook, Hardington, Somerset, on or before August 1, 2018.
It was consequently ordered to pay the Environment Agency costs of £14,000, a total fine of £20,000 and a victim surcharge of £170.
Dead fish
In August 2018, the Environment Agency received reports of dead fish in the Hardington Brook and Buckland Brook – tributaries of the River Frome.
Officers attended and found dead fish, including brown trout and bullhead in the Hardington Brook.
The following day they traced the discoloured water to a side stream flowing from the direction of Manor Farm, where they found a non-permitted discharge from the farm’s surface-water drainage system.
The discharge was heavily discoloured, and samples confirmed it would prove fatal to fish because of its concentration of ammonia and very high biological oxygen demand, which limited the oxygen supply to the fish in Hardington Brook.
The Manor Farm manager stopped the discharge and emptied the ditch, however a follow-up inspection by an Environment Agency officer on September 14, 2018, found polluting matter in the ditch.
The inspection concluded the farm’s dirty drainage system still posed a ‘high potential pollution risk’ due to insufficient storage capacity and appropriate engineering. Consequently, farm run-off was able to enter the surface water ditch and subsequently the watercourse.
The Environment Officer concluded the farm infrastructure was not adequately constructed in accordance with the Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (England) Regulations 2010 (SSAFO Regulations). Clean and dirty water systems were not adequately separated, and the slurry storage and dirty water drainage systems had not kept pace with the expansion of activities at Manor Farm.
Commenting for the Environment Agency, Jo Masters said:
“We expect much better from such a large and experienced farming business, both for the environment and the local community.
“Regulations are in place to protect the environment and our communities and by not keeping up with the regulations this company has put the environment at risk of harm.”
Since the incident there has been considerable investment in the farm’s infrastructure and Velcourt Ltd. has also reviewed arrangements at the other farms it manages.
Radstock Cooperative Society
Manor Farm is owned by the Radstock Cooperative Society, but operated on their behalf by Velcourt Ltd., of Orchard House.
In 2020 the Environment Agency accepted an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) from Radstock Cooperative Society in relation to their responsibilities in this case. The society has made a payment of £10,000 to the environmental charity Westcountry River Trust.
An Enforcement Undertaking is a Civil Sanction available to the Environment Agency as an alternative sanction to prosecution or monetary penalty for dealing with certain environmental offences.
