Farmer given £6,000fine bySEPAover slurryleakage
A Kinross-shrire farmer has been fined £6000 for environmental offences following inadequate storage of slurry.
Norman Greer was sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court for the offence and failing to notify environment watchdog SEPA timeously of a new slurry storage system at Wharlawhill Farm near Carnbo.
SEPA says its officers were called to the South Queich river in February 2014 after slurry was discovered there. Investigations linked it to the farm where a leak was found in a slurry tank.
SEPA’s reporting officer said: “The fine for this incident should provide a clear message to other farmers who choose to disregard environmental legislation, that storing slurry correctly is of paramount importance.
“While slurry is a useful fertiliser, it is also a highly polluting substance if not controlled properly and therefore must be stored and managed in an appropriate manner.
“In this case, poor storage led to more than one kilometre of the local river being polluted following a leak — an issue which could have been avoided had it been addressed by the farmer.”
SEPA said Greer, whom it says admitted to being a person having custody or control of slurry which shall be stored in a slurry storage system in relation to which the requirements of Schedule 2 of the regulations shall be satisfied, did fail to comply with regulations on its storage.
Pupils and parents at Madderty Primary gather for the multi-use path