Environment Agency | East Midlands Airport Ltd has been prosecuted for allowing discharges of drainage water containing aircraft and runway de-icing fluid.
At Derby Crown Court, the company was fined £892,500 for three offences of breaching environmental permits for the airport site near Nottingham, contrary to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. They were also ordered to pay costs of £65,687.54.
The court was told that the offences had occurred between 14 January 2022 and 4 February 2022.
The airport’s operation potentially causes water pollution through the discharge of surface water drainage containing residues of de-icing fluid from aircraft and runways.
The discharge must therefore meet quality limits as set out in the airport’s environment permit. These limits are calculated to protect the environment.
Any failure to meet these limits is therefore likely to have a chronic impact on the watercourse and result in a deterioration in water quality.
The airport’s environmental permit allows a discharge of site drainage containing a maximum level of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 15 mg/l.
BOD is a measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic matter in a water sample and is indicative of the level of organic pollution.
However, an investigation by Environment Agency officers found that the company had significantly breached this limit on three separate occasions.
In mitigation, the company, which changed management in 2022, said it had actively engaged with the Environment Agency to improve the situation.
The court was told that the company has a poor history of permit compliance.
Prior to this case there have been 13 separate permit breaches at East Midlands Airport since 2006, resulting in 10 written warnings.
