Thorburn Bros Limited of Benton Square Industrial Estate, Newcastle, submitted an Enforcement Undertaking to the Environment Agency, after it failed to meet its environmental obligations by avoiding the costs of applying for an environmental permit, which it would have needed in order to carry out this tipping lawfully.
An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for their offending.
The Environment Agency was made aware of large quantities of waste soils being taken from building sites to an old quarry on farmland in Longframlington in June 2018. The site was visited, and a continuous stream of waggons marked with Thorburn Bros Ltd's livery were seen depositing soil and clays, which were being levelled by a bulldozer.
Following a visit to Thorburn Bros Ltd's offices, the company produced evidence to show that they had deposited some 9,380 tonnes of waste soils at the quarry. The quarry was not covered by any environmental permit
An Environmental Permit, in this case, would have set out the operating conditions that Thorburn Bros would be legally bound to observe in order to minimise the risk of harm to people and the environment.
Area Environment Manager, Andrew Turner, said:
Illegally disposing of waste at a site that does not include the necessary infrastructure for managing and controlling pollution presents a real risk of harm to people and the environment.
In some circumstances, Enforcement Undertakings can achieve a good resolution of our enforcement action, allowing the offender to put things right and help to improve our environment. This payment of £9,872 will do just that by supporting environmental improvements at Northumberland Wildlife Trust's site at West Chevington, a former open-cast coal mine.
The offer from Thorburn Bros Limited detailed improvements to its administrative systems and training for its staff. This will help to avoid the risk of environmental offending.
