The Environment Agency has had no let up in pollution prosecutions over the past 4 months with a number of maximum magistrate fines being imposed for numerous waste and water offenses.
One particular offence happened in South West England and involved Conoco Phillips Ltd and SGS (UK) Ltd. The incident was the result of poor site 'housekeeping' and management, with nearly 80,000 litres of petrol leaking from a storage tank terminal and so contaminating the groundwater.
As a result of the leak, Plymouth magistrates fined Conoco Phillips Ltd £16,000 plus £3,373 due to causing unleaded petrol to enter controlled waters, an offence under the Water Resources Act 1991. The site operator SGS (UK) Ltd were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 for the same offence.
According to a spokeswomen for the Environment Agency "this type of pollution incident is avoidable. Terminal owners and operators must ensure storage tanks and other equipment are regularly checked and maintained and in the event of a spill, all correct procedures are followed so as to minimise any impact on the environment."
Alpha Environmental provide a variety of services for emergency response including Environmental Awareness Seminars which are aimed at reducing site potential risks, demonstrating methods of dealing with such risks and how to use the equipment we can provide to cope with a spill. For more details please feel free to contact us
Source: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/113821.aspx