County Durham farmer fined £1,600 over illegal waste operation
14 May 2014 10:56 AM
Defendant was caught burning mixed waste on his
land
A
County Durham farmer has been fined £1,600 for operating a waste
treatment facility without a legal permit.
Stephen Anthony Suddes, 52, of Thornley Pit House Farm,
near Tow Law, Bishop Auckland, was handed the fine by Darlington Magistrates on
12 May after an illegal waste fire was seen on his land in May
2012.
Chris Bunting, prosecuting for the Environment Agency,
told the court that the fire was emitting a large quantity of black
smoke.
Investigating officers visited the site and found a
large pile of mixed waste that included green waste, wood, plastics, metal,
rubble and soils, and there were clear signs of scorched earth, indicating that
the pile had been on fire.
Another visit later in summer found that some black
plastic bags, filled with waste, and timber had been added to the pile, and
again there was evidence of a recent fire, with smouldering ash
present.
Piles of untreated mixed waste were also found in one of
Suddes’ farm buildings.
Suddes, who has a previous conviction for illegally
depositing waste, admitted one charge of operating a regulated waste facility
without a permit.
In
mitigation, the defendant said that most of the waste burned had originated
from his own premises, rather than him having collected it from other sources.
He added that some of the waste on the burned pile had been fly-tipped on his
land, although he had burned that as well as the waste he had generated
himself.
Andrea Wass, environment officer at the Environment
Agency, said after the hearing:
The
fine imposed by the court demonstrates the seriousness of environmental
offences. Waste facilities can pose a risk to the environment and local
communities if they are not properly managed – that’s why it is
vital that farmers, companies and individuals work within the
rules.
Anyone who suspects that waste is being disposed of on
an illegal waste fire is urged to report the matter to our incident hotline on
0800 807060.
As
well as the fine, Suddes was ordered to pay £2,909.85 in legal costs and
a £160 victim surcharge.