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A County Down man has been fined £6,000 for polluting charges to a waterway.
Mr Robert Hamilton was also charged £10 in court costs and £15 for an Offenders Levy.
On 21 August 2013, Water Quality Inspectors acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) inspected the Enler River at its confluence with the Ballystockart River and observed that the river was very cloudy and grey in colour. The Inspectors traced the source of the pollution to premises owned by Robert Martin Hamilton. A discharge of vegetable processing waste water was observed flowing across a field and into the adjacent waterway.
On 11 December 2013, a Water Quality Inspector acting on behalf of NIEA observed a brown discharge from an unnamed tributary entering the Enler River. The discolouration was traced upstream for approximately 1km to premises owned by Mr Hamilton. It was observed that the waterway above these premises was clear.
On 10 March 2014, a Water Quality Inspector acting on behalf of NIEA again observed that the Enler River at its confluence with the Ballystockart River was grossly polluted. The source of the pollution was again traced to premises owned by Mr Hamilton.
Samples taken at the time of the incidents confirmed that the discharges contained high Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Ammonia and Suspended Solids content. At the incident in August 2013 there were in excess of 5,000 fish killed at an estimated restocking cost of £7,918.06. Mr Hamilton has agreed to reimburse this cost.
(CD/JP)
