Doagh farmer convicted over water pollution offence that resulted in a fish kill
A Doagh farmer has been fined £1,000, plus £15 Offenders Levy, over a water pollution offence that resulted in a fish kill.
Seamus Kane (52), of Ballymena Road, was convicted at Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Monday (February 2), under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, as amended.
The court heard that NIEA water quality inspectors responded to a report of slurry in the Four Mile Burn at Doagh. Dead fish and invertebrates were observed in the Four Mile Burn and further upstream into the Ballyclover Burn, both tributaries of the Six Mile Water.
Inspectors traced the pollution by following the trail of dead fish to a pipe actively discharging green liquid into the waterway, liquid which had a strong agricultural odour.
Dead fish were found below the discharge point, while live fish were observed upstream. DAERA Inland Fisheries counted a total of 1,109 dead brown trout between five centimetres and 25 centimetres in length.
On the farm, inspectors examined an inspection chamber through which slurry was observed to be flowing. A dye test confirmed this chamber was directly connected to the waterway.
As part of the investigation, a statutory sample of the discharge was collected and analysed. The sample results indicated the sample contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to aquatic life in a receiving waterway.
Both the Ballyclover Burn and the Four Mile Burn were significantly impacted, with dead fish observed along a six kilometre length of the river.