Co Fermanagh man fined for water pollution offence

County Fermanagh farmer Alan Henderson (48), of Enniskillen Road, Kilgortnaleague in Enniskillen, pleaded guilty to one count of water pollution and was fined £500 plus £15 Offenders Levy at Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court on 10 May 2023.

The Court heard that on 22 December 2021 a Water Quality Inspector acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of farm effluent entering the Ballinamallard River below Kilgortnaleague Bridge on the Enniskillen to Irvinestown Road.  Farm effluent had been dumped onto a steeply sloping field between the farmyard and the waterway.  The effluent was observed flowing down the field before entering the Ballinamallard River, approximately 40 metres from where the effluent had been released. 

A tripartite statutory sample of the discharge was collected and analysed.  The discharge contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to aquatic life in a receiving waterway.

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24 hour NIEA Incident Hotline on: 0800 80 70 60.

Notes to editors: 

1. The defendant was charged under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (as amended by the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006).
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