Diesel fuel from a pump belonging to haulage company Parsons Nationwide Distribution Ltd based at Aylesbeare Business Park ended up in a tributary of the River Otter after a lorry ruptured the tank after a collision.
The case was brought by the Environment Agency.
Honiton Magistrates heard that a handbrake in the lorry cab had not been applied and the vehicle ran forward into the pump causing fuel to spill out on to the concrete yard and then into the nearby watercourse before imposing a fine of £5,000 and costs of £1,297 on the company.
The company trades from Parsons Yard, at the head of a valley above Aylesbeare Common, and is a particularly environmentally sensitive site, owned and managed by the RSPB, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area. Of particular interest, it is home to nightjars and the Dartford warbler.
The risk of oil pollution is of such concern, it is specifically regulated by the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage)(England) Regulations 2001. Precautions must be taken by businesses that store oil to minimise any risk of an escape into the environment and minimise any risk of damage by impact.
On 4 April 2007, Parsons Nationwide Distribution Ltd, stored diesel oil in two metal tanks total volume 50,00 litres. The diesel was used for lorry fuel and there was an associated fuel dispenser.
In the evening, a run away articulated lorry collided with the diesel fuel pump, demolishing the pump and ripping out the pipe from the tank. An estimated 20,000 litres of fuel spilled from the tank into the drainage system and then into the Back Brook, a tributary of the River Otter.
The Environment Agency deployed three booms and eight absorbent pads in the water at Venn Ottery Bridge in Newton Poppleford and at Benchams Ford on Harpford Common.
It was agreed that the best way to contain the oil was to build a small dam, incorporating a form of interceptor and this would contain the oil but allow water to pass through. The clean-up operation cost the company £13,000.
‘The magnitude of the clean-up operation was beyond the available resources of the Environment Agency so specialist contractors were needed on site for three days while they installed dams at Goosemoor Farm and Benchams Ford. The company used a vacuum tanker to suck oil off the surface of the water,’ said Stuart Hunter for the Environment Agency.
‘The process of clean up involved deploying booms, absorbent materials, digging a dam and interceptor. We urge all companies to correctly store oils, chemicals and other fluids and have staff trained to deal with incidents such as this. They should know where their drains flow to and have adequate protection measures on their drainage systems.’
Parsons Nationwide Distribution Limited, of 2 Clyst Works, Clyst Road, Topsham, Devon, pleaded guilty to causing poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter controlled waters contrary to Section 85 (1) Water Resources Act 1991.
