A Northern Irish farmer has been ordered to pay out nearly £3,000 following a pollution incident that killed fish.
County Fermanagh farmer Rodney Elliott was convicted at Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court for water pollution offences that caused a fish kill.
The court heard that on 26 June 2018 a Senior Water Quality Inspector (SWQI) and Water Quality Inspector (WQI), acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of slurry in a waterway close to Florencecourt.
The inspectors entered the farm where they discovered that slurry had flowed down Druminiskill Road and entered a roadside drain which discharged to the nearby waterway.
Inland Fisheries colleagues carried out a survey. The fish kill was confined to the polluted tributary, but no dead fish were observed in the main Arney River.
The court were told that on 20 August 2018 inspectors responded to a further report of slurry in the Larganess River close to Florencecourt.
On this occasion, the inspectors discovered a slurry tank was overflowing and the slurry was discharging to the waterway via roadside gullies. No fish were killed as a result of this incident.
In accordance with procedures a sample of the active discharge was collected and analysed and found to contain poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
The 48-year-old pleaded guilty and was fined a total of £2,500, plus a £15 offenders levy plus and costs of £267.
