Will industrial pollution be affected by a no-deal Brexit? The government thinks so, and they’re busy recommending the waste industry reviews its contingency plans. Jersey says its water is fine, but local people beg to differ. And Severn Trent Water has been at it again, this time polluting Longmore Valley near Sutton Coldfield. Here’s the latest spill containment and water pollution prevention news.

No Deal Brexit – Government advice for the waste industry

The UK government is keen for players in the waste industry to review their contingency plans just in case they face disruption after a no deal Brexit, advising the nation’s waste exporters to get ready for potential disruption at ports.

They say that, with or without a deal, all the existing consents authorising hazardous waste exports, AKA notified waste, to any country in the EU, will remain in place when we leave. That means if you export waste from the UK the processes that govern non-notified waste or ‘green-list’ waste won’t change. On the other hand if there’s no deal, changed border controls might have an impact on some exported waste products. While they’re not predicting disruption at Britain’s container ports there may be some delays when there’s a roll-on, roll-off system in operation. The Port of Dover is a good example, and they’re already taking steps to minimise the impact just in case there’s no deal.

If you collect, transport or store waste to be sent to the EU, your current permit or licence still applies. But if there are problems at ports there are a few sensible steps you can do to reduce the impact:

• Find out if you can store the waste on your own site, or identify an alternative facility take it for you
• Try to avoid blocked export, recovery and disposal routes and find an alternative
• Make sure your haulage partner is fully aware of any changes to your usual plans
• If you change the export route, don’t forget to change your export notification too, and get it agreed by the usual UK and overseas authorities. Remember your contingency plans MUST be compatible with the permit
• If you have to store extra waste on your site for longer than you expect, you must deal with any environmental risks and take steps to keep them under control – we should be able to help you achieve that without causing pollution

Jersey suffers almost one water pollution incident every day since the New Year

As reported by ITV, Jersey Water wants to reassure islanders and visitors that the drinking water there is safe… but people are suspicious, and no wonder when they’ve seen 80 incidents of pollution so far in 2019 alone. The incidents all took place in streams and other waterways, including Queen’s Valley, Grand Vaux and Bellozanne. And while none were deemed dangerous and the pollutants were taken out during the water treatment process, the sheer number of problems doesn’t look good.

Jersey’s Environment Minister, Deputy John Young, says one housing construction site, the Horizon on the Waterfront, is already being investigated for alleged pollution after water brought by unusually high tides got into the Elizabeth Marina. Apparently Environmental Protection is continuing an existing investigation into the incidents, fearing a breach of the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000 at the Horizon construction site.

The polluted water is flowing into the marina and is affecting the wildlife, and is also leaking into the Ramsar area. The owner of the Horizon site, the Jersey Development Company, gave no comment, nor did the project contractor Legendre. In the meantime Malcolm Berridge from Jersey Water says the island’s water complies with all the regulatory parameters.

Severn Trent Water fined… again

Severn Trent Water has been fined a stiff half a million pounds for environmental pollution, this time for discharging thousands of gallons of raw sewerage from its network onto land at Sutton Park in the West Midlands in November 2013. They were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 22nd March 2019, and as well as being fined were ordered to pay prosecution costs of £50,693 plus a victim surcharge of £120.

The incident happened when a blocked sewer within Sutton Park started discharging waste into the Longmoor Valley, a flow that wasn’t actually noticed until the following day thanks to poor visibility. A park ranger eventually found a large amount of stinking sewage coming out of a manhole cover, spreading far and wide. Officials from Natural England turned up to map the damage, and found the sewerage had polluted 1.15 hectares of land, entered a nearby ditch, then flowed 700m into the Longmoor Brook and on to the Longmoor Pool.

This is the latest in a run of incidents brought to court. In 2014 Severn Trent Water Limited pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates’ Court for polluting the Pudding Brook in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, also with untreated sewage. In June 2017 Severn Trent Water were cautioned after supplying ‘highly chlorinated water’ to 3,700 properties via the Castle Donington Service reservoir in Derbyshire. And in 2012 they were taken to court over a Section 70 supply of water, where the water was unfit due to ‘discolouration, taste and odour’. They were fined £66,000 on 11 counts, and made to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

Avoid large environment penalties

The last thing your business or organisation needs is a big fine for environmental pollution. We’ll be delighted to discuss the best ways to stay safe, stay clean, and stay out of court.