DAERA | Harry Brown (62), Lurganeden Road, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone has been convicted for an offence under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 as amended. He pleaded guilty and was fined £1,500 plus £15 Offenders Levy.
The Court heard that NIEA Water Quality Inspectors responded to a water pollution incident that had occurred between 12 and 13 June 2024. They discovered that dark grey agricultural effluent was flowing along a ditch beside the Pomeroy Road before discharging to the Claggan River (a tributary of the Ballinderry River into Lough Neagh).
Inspectors traced the effluent to farm premises on Lurganeden Road. Mr Brown said he had been cleaning out a poultry house when effluent ran through a nearby wooded area into land-drainage pipes and thence the waterway.
A statutory sample of the discharge showed poisonous, noxious or polluting matter likely harmful to aquatic life in the receiving waterway.
It is an offence under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (as amended) for contravening Articles 7(1)(a), 7(2) or 7(6) regarding polluting discharges to waterways. This list is not exhaustive.
