Waste breach costs £57,000

Jul 22 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A FOOD company was yesterday ordered to pay almost £57,000 for its latest failure to control discharges from its 200-job Northumberland factory.

Amble’s biggest employer, Cheviot Foods, was fined £29,700 plus £27,000 costs for breaching rules on effluent from its plant at Coquet Enterprise Park.

In seven years the firm has been prosecuted three times and given 37 cautions for breaking conditions of its consent to discharge waste water to Amble sewage works. In 2003 it was fined £14,000 for seven offences and last September it was fined £2,500 for three. Yesterday Cheviot Foods admitted 18 offences between last October and December and asked for 30 others to be considered.

Alnwick magistrates were told the regulations controlled the quantity and quality of trade effluent discharged.

Paul Kelly, prosecuting for Northumbrian Water, said Cheviot Foods’ failure to keep to limits had overloaded the sewage works, causing complaints about odours. Aggravating features had included the firm’s failures since 2001, the effect on the sewage works and potential for pollution of Amble Marina. Problems at the sewage works – improved in 2000 for £10.5m – resulted in Northumbrian Water being called in for an interview with the Environment Agency about failed samples.

Problems had arisen because of Cheviot Foods’ inability to pre-treat waste water effectively, despite spending £1m.

Jonathan Dunkley, for the firm, said there was no evidence of harm to the environment. “The more the company has grown, the more they have struggled to meet these effluent levels.”

'Determined to solve problem'

A TREATMENT plant installed at Cheviot Foods in 2005 to tackle its effluent problems was an "extremely expensive disaster", the court was told.

The £425,000 plant, to improve pre-treatment of waste water, had proved unfit and would be scrapped, said Mr Dunkley. Cheviot Foods has now employed consultants who have concluded a more reliable and robust treatment system should be provided at a cost of £300,000.

Mr Dunkley said: "This investment will possibly stretch them to the absolute maximum from a financial point of view." But managers were determined to solve the problem