A County Kildare company has been fined £15,000 at Newry Magistrates' Court following a pollution incident during the construction of the North-South gas pipeline in June 2006.

An officer found the that the Forkhill River in Co Armagh had been badly polluted, and SICIM Roadbridge Ltd of Tougher Business Park in Naas pleaded guilty to the offence.

-- Advertisement --

The pollution was traced to three large industrial pumps discharging large volumes of heavily silted effluent directly into a tributary of the river.

The effluent was being pumped from a section of the North-South gas pipeline, which was being constructed by SICIM Roadbridge Ltd.

Analysis confirmed that the river was badly polluted, containing silt at a level which would have been harmful to fish.

The Magistrate, Mr Copeland, said that the company appeared to have put the interests of commerce before environmental interests. He imposed a fine of £15,000 plus court costs of £91 and analysist costs of £120.30.

(JM)