Call for government to intervene after failure to find oil spill cause

The UK Government has been urged to intervene after an investigation failed to determine the source of a Forth oil spill.

Fife taxpayers footed the £600,000 clean-up bill after a major leak affected the shore at Limekilns and Charlestown in February.

As Fife Council investigates a second oil spill along the coast at North Queensferry, MSP ShirleyAnne Somerville said it was outrageous that the earlier probe had been halted.

Environment agency Sepa and the Marine and Coastguard Agency ended an inquiry without the source being identified.

Dunfermline and West Fife SNP member Ms Somerville said: “When an environmental incident like this occurs, it’s only right that those who are responsible cover the costs of the clean-up.

“It’s certainly not right that Fife taxpayers are having to pick up the bill. We need to make it clear that polluters will be held to account.”

Jo McFarlane, of Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Nature Conservation Group, backed the call for action.

“We are left frustrated that someone can cause environmental damage and pollution, take no responsibility, cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds and escape all prosecution.”

Derek Crowe, the council’s roads and transportation senior manager, added: “We’re as unhappy as our local taxpayers about footing the bill to clean up someone else’s pollution with public money, particularly when our service budgets are so stretched. However, as the party responsible can’t be identified we simply have no choice.”

A spokeswoman for the government’s Department for Transport said: “The DfT is confident in the actions the MCA carried out regarding the oil spill.

“We will continue to support its work with other authorities to identify the cause of the spill.”

The cause of the latest slick, between Queensferry Crossing and Forth Road Bridge, should be confirmed by Sepa within weeks.