AQW 26726/17-22
Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim
Tabled Date: 01/12/2021
Answered On Date: 15/12/2021
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail the number of prosecutions for river pollution in South Antrim, in each of the last five years.
Answer:
Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) Water Management Unit have actioned 13 prosecution cases in respect of water pollution as a contravention of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 in the South Antrim constituency since January 2016. Ten cases resulted in a monetary fine on conviction, one case resulted in a caution and two are still in progress. I have included the last five completed calendar years and data for 1st January to 30th September 2021 as a part year. The cases and their outcomes are detailed in Table 1 below. Officials in the NIEA investigate every report of water pollution received, and when a polluter is identified and the evidence warrants, enforcement action as a prosecution may be recommended to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for consideration. It is the PPS who decide if a case progresses to Court, and the Judiciary set the levels of any fine on conviction. Data in the table includes cases currently in the prosecution process but not completed before the court. The year reference indicates when the case was concluded before the Court, which is not always the year the pollution offence occurred in. Table 1. Water Pollution Prosecutions in South Antrim, 2016 to Sep 2021 Year | Description | TOTAL | 2021 | 2 cases ongoing, 1 case Fine £1,000 1 case Fine £750 | 4 | 2020 | 1 case Fine £500 1 case Caution | 2 | 2019 | 1 case Fine £7,500 1 case Fine £5,000 | 2 | 2018 | 1 case Fine £2,250 | 1 | 2017 | 1 case Fine £1,000 1 case Fine £500 | 2 | 2016 | 1 case Fine £900 1 case Fine £600 | 2 |
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