On 25 September 2007 Powerfuel PLC of Hatfield Colliery, Stainforth, South Yorkshire, were found guilty at Doncaster Magistrates Court to one charge relating to the pollution of the Pissy Beds Drain, Stainforth.
The charge was brought by the Environment Agency under section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991. Powerfuel PLC were fined £2000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £2981.25.
For the Environment Agency, Dermot Scully told the court that on 8 June 2006 Environment Agency officers were called to an incident at the Pissy Beds Drain down stream of the Hatfield Colliery. The drain was polluted and like tomato soup in colour. When officers went to Hatfield Colliery later that day, the lagoons in the colliery were bright orange and water was still being discharged. The analysis indicated that there was too much iron in the water and breached the conditions of the discharge consent.
Environment Agency officers took samples of the water and it was found that the iron content was nine times over the consent limit.
On 12 June 2006, the Environment Agency observed 62 dead fish in the South Soak Drain at Wyke Well Bridge, Thorne. It is likely that elevated ammonia and metal toxicity caused their deaths.
Environment Agency officers interviewed Powerfuel PLC on 25 July 2006. During the interview Powerfuel PLC admitted that they had discharged water from the lagoons that was out of consent and they had attempted to control the quality of the water.
In mitigation, Charles Killin told the court that the company had done everything in its power to keep the discharge within the consent limits but, regrettably, it had failed.
Speaking after the case, Richard Hardy, an Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation said: “This was a serious incident that lead to the death of fish. Iron and ammonia can irritate fish’s gills and can enter the fish causing a poison effect. We hope the company takes steps to ensure that this does not happen again. We will not hesitate to take enforcement action if companies pollute the environment â€
