The Roe Anglers Association is seeking legal advice over a fish kill in the River Roe almost three years ago which led to Seagate Technology Media Ireland Ltd being fined £6,000 on Wednesday at Limavady Magistrate's Court.
The US company pleaded guilty to discharging trade effluent into the local sewerage system in July 2005 without providing the Department of Regional Development with sufficient notice.They also pleaded guilty to knowingly or otherwise discharging poi
sonous, noxious or polluting matter into a waterway in Limavady in contravention of the Water (NI) Order 1999, relating to events occurring on July 22, 2005. The discharge happened on the same day - July 22, 2005 - as hundreds of fish in the River Roe, salmon and trout, were killed, affecting about three kilometres of the River Roe.
"Fish continued to die in the affected stretch of the River Roe for several days afterwards," according to a DoE spokesperson. "A number of samples were collected, including samples from a pipe discharging from the nearby Seagate Technology Media (Ireland) Ltd plant at Dowland Road, Limavady."
Investigations within the plant revealed that the company had within the previous few days made changes to their effluent treatment process, including the use of a particular chemical to treat the effluent. Subsequent analysis confirmed that the effluent discharging from Seagate Technology Media (Ireland) Ltd into the River Roe contained this chemical.
"It was also found that this chemical was highly toxic and had been the cause of previous serious fish kills in other countries," added the spokesperson.
Roe Anglers spokesperson, Mark Duncan said the group is seeking legal advice from their solicitors, the Ulster Angling Federation and the Loughs Agency.
"We're glad they've been prosecuted," he said. "We want to try and seek some sort of compensation."
Mr. Duncan said the idea is to use any compensation for enhancement work to habitat and nursery areas for juvenile fish in the future.
"That would cost a lot to do," he said.
Environment Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the court fines, saying they demonstrated EHS's continued determination "to conserve, protect and, where possible, improve aquatic environment in NI. It also demonstrates how seriously the judiciary view the environmental impacts that result from such offences.
"In respect of such water pollution incidents, my Department will act rapidly in order to investigate, prevent or mitigate, where possible, the effects of polluting these discharges to our waterways."
The full article contains 406 words and appears in Journal Friday DER Edition newspaper.
