AQW 20110/17-22
Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim
Tabled Date: 08/06/2021
Answered On Date: 18/06/2021
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, pursuant to AQW 18991/17-22, for a breakdown of the 73 significant water pollution incidents caused by Northern Ireland Water, which resulted in fines totalling circa £250,000.
Answer:
Please find a breakdown of successful prosecution actions taken against Northern Ireland Water Limited (NIWL) by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) currently held on record. Many cases are not concluded in the same year that the investigation commenced and the table below reflects the number of cases commenced in any particular year coupled with the total eventual fines attributed to cases that have concluded from each year. Table 1. Cases proved in Court against NIWL by NIEA by Year and Total Fines. Year of Incident | Number of Case Files to PPS | Fines allocated to incidents from that year | 2007 | 9 | £22,700.00 | 2008 | 8 | £12,500.00 | 2009 | 12 | £14,700.00 | 2010 | 9 | £13,000.00 | 2011 | 6 | £15,000.00 | 2012 | 2 | £6,000.00 | 2013 | 5 | £7,750.00 | 2014 | 3 | £16,500.00 | 2015 | 3 | £3,500.00 | 2016 | 1 | £20,000.00 | 2017 | 3 | £116,500.00 | 2018 | 1 | £5,000.00 | TOTAL | 62 | £253,150.00 |
You will note that the number reflected above does not match the number quoted in the AQW 18991/17-22 referenced above. This is due to the fact that a number of charges can be progressed under a single court action once passed to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). It is common practice to not prosecute every charge and some may be withdrawn or ‘left on the books’ in the court setting.
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