Man fined for polluting River Earn

Feb 5 2010

HUNDREDS of tonnes of silt swept into two important spawning rivers in Perthshire after a dam was breached.

The pollution was described as “one of the worst incidents” Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) officers in Perth have had to deal with.

And at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday, former fisheries consultant Richard Philp (50) was fined £9000.

He admitted failing to get a licence to carry out the work at Whitehouse, Dunira Estate, Comrie, last March 17 and 18.

Depute fiscal Janine Bates said that “substantial damage” had been caused to eggs spawned by salmon, brown trout and sea trout in both Tullybannocher Burn and the River Earn.

It also adversely affected other aquatic life over a 10-mile stretch of the watercourses.

Ms Bates said that the accused was a consultant contracted to carry out work at the small loch to establish a fishery.

Around 1000 tonnes of silt had to be removed from behind the dam and Michael Scott, of MS Contracts, was subcontracted to carry out the work.

The reservoir had been drained but the burn continued to flow through the middle of it, where heavy machinery was being operated.

“The water running into the site was clear and unpolluted. The water leaving it was extremely polluted with suspended solids,” added the prosecution.

Samples taken by SEPA officials downstream contained 237 times as many suspended solids as those above the site.

“This is one of the highest results in terms of suspended solids any of the officers involved had seen,” Ms Bates added.

Mr Philp seemed “unaware” he needed a licence for his solitary contract as a consultant. He had managed a fishing loch before becoming a self-employed plumber.

In a letter to the court, Philp, now of Queich Court, Milnathort, said: “As an agent, I take full responsibility for the work carried out but can’t accept full responsibility for all the silt in the streams.

“There were many contributing factors outwith our operation – the weather certainly played a very large part.”

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis acknowledged the accused had spent £4000 to hire pumps to have the loch by-passed.

But he added: “Nonetheless, you were the person who was in charge and there were a number of areas where you fell short.”

Philp, who could have been fined up to £40,000 or jailed for six months, was allowed 12 months to pay up.

Yesterday, the case prompted Sepa to issue a reminder to anyone carrying out watercourse works to ensure they take steps to protect the environment.

Senior environment protection officer Calum McGregor said: “I have over 10 years’ experience dealing with pollution incidents and have never seen an impact from suspended solids of this scale before.

“A significant volume of silt was released and deposited into an important river at a critical time in the life cycle for salmon, sea trout and brown trout.

“The silt, which was up to 30 centimetres deep, also caused a significant impact on the invertebrate ecology.

“Despite the obvious risk of silt pollution, no consideration was given to pollution prevention measures before or during the works.”

“Not even the most basic steps were taken to stop silt being released to the environment.”

Contractors are being asked to look up the website www.sepa.org.uk before starting works. Meanwhile, residents can call the agency’s 24-hour pollution report line on 0800 80 70 60.