Northumbrian Water has agreed 165,000 to a North East charity following a 2018 pollution incident near Newcastle.
After causing unauthorised discharges from its Horsley Water Treatment Works, the North East water company agreed to pay the Tyne Rivers Trust the sum. This led to the pollution at Kittys Burn on Tyne.
Northumbrian Water submitted an Enforcement Undertaking (now accepted) to the Environment Agency.
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An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary civil sanction that an offender can use to correct the consequences of their offending. It is not an admission or guilt.
The Environment Agency may accept an Enforcement Undertaking when it has reasonable grounds of suspecting that the person offering the undertaking is guilty of an offence.
Rachael Cadwell, Area Environment Manager, stated: All businesses, even water companies, have a responsibility not to cause harm to the environment or people.
Companies that fail to comply with their environmental obligations are a serious matter. We will take appropriate action, including civil sanctions, if necessary.
Companies that violate environmental laws or pollute the natural environment can be granted enforcement undertakings to address and correct any problems and prevent future ones.
Tyne Rivers Trust will make this payment. This will help to preserve and enhance the environment in the locality.
Northumbrian Water had temporarily hired a machine to separate liquids at Horsley to help them cope with an increase in demand. However, staff used outdated drainage plans and incorrectly connected it to a surface drain rather than to a foul sewer.
Centrate, a liquid produced by dewatering sludge, was discharged into a drain that led to Kitty Burn. The liquid then flowed approximately 1.5km into the River Tyne.
The Environment Agency was present on 2 November 2018, and inquires revealed that the discharge had been occurring intermittently for approximately eight weeks with nearly eight million litres centrate being released.
Sampling revealed that there had been little impact on the river’s ecology.
Northumbrian Water’s Enforcement Undertaking also explains how it has established standard operating procedures to ensure that all locations have colour-coded drain covers, on-site signage, and that all drains can be identified and checked against a site drainage plan.
(Image: newcastle chroniquele)
The Tyne Rivers Trust will split the donation between a project on River Don at Primrose, a new farming project in the Ouseburn or South Tyneside catchments, as well as Tyneside Catchment Partnership communications.
The Environment Agency has secured fines for water companies in excess of 137 million since 2015.
Northumbrian Water was recently fined 224,000 at Newcastle Crown Court for polluting Coundon Burn, March 2017.
They were also fined 540,000 by Durham Crown Court in October 2021 for polluting a watercourse which runs through Heads Hope Dene, Castle Eden in May 2017.
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