County Tyrone farm business fined £8,500 for pollution discharge
County Tyrone business Donmac Farms Limited, Drumenny Road, Coagh, has pleaded guilty and been fined £8,500 at Dungannon Magistrates' Court today (Monday, 14th November).
On 5 October 2015 Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs), acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) inspected a waterway at Drumenny Road, Coagh and observed the bed of the waterway was black with a grey white fungus present. The WQIs entered the farm and proceeded to a storm inspection chamber. They detected a strong agricultural odour from the inspection chamber which was piped to the waterway.
A sample taken on 5 October 2015 confirmed that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
A dye test confirmed the discharge from the inspection chamber where the sample had been collected was making its way to the waterway.