A Welsh farmer who polluted a two-mile stretch of a stream with silt during flood alleviation work has been ordered to pay out over £1,000.
Huw Pritchard, of Castellau Fach Farm, was prosecuted by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for what it described as a 'reckless' pollution incident.
The farmer pleaded guilty to causing silt pollution of the Nant Castellau, which flows into Nant Muchudd, a tributary of the River Ely.
It followed reports in October 2022 from members of the public of discoloured water in the stream near Castellau Chapel.
NRW’s investigation revealed the stream was being polluted by silt caused by construction work near the Nant Castellau on land adjacent to The Croft on Castellau Road.
The court was told that Mr Pritchard was constructing a pond and also banks near the stream to try to resolve flooding issues.
But the court was told he did not have permission from NRW and he had not put in place pollution prevention measures to stop silt laden water runoff from entering the watercourse.
At the sentencing hearing in Merthyr Magistrates’ Court, Mr Pritchard was fined £250 with a victim surcharge of £100 and was ordered to pay costs of £850 to NRW.
The level of fine for environmental offences is set by the courts and is based on the financial means of the defendants.
Mr Pritchard’s solicitor confirmed to the court that he was only making £150 per week as a farmer.
Fiona Hourahine, operations manager for NRW said: “Although Mr Pritchard was cooperative during our investigation, the construction work he carried out so close to the stream without our permission or any mitigation measures in place to protect the stream was reckless.
“We will not hesitate to take enforcement action against people whose actions are polluting Wales’ rivers, damaging the environment and harming local wildlife.
“We would like to thank the people who reported the pollution to us through our incident hotline, which gave us the opportunity to act quickly to prevent further pollution.”
