Farmer contaminated water supply with slurry
A farmer contaminated water supplies and polluted a stream when a slurry store he built collapsed, a court has heard.
Derek Dyer, 74, from Yarcombe, received a community order of 60 hours and was ordered to pay costs of £15,388.40 and a surcharge of £114 at Exeter magistrates on 9 May.
He admitted one charge of causing pollution and two charges related to the construction of an illegal slurry store at a field in Combe St Nicholas, near Chard.
Summing up, District Judge Smith described the act of building a slurry store from farmyard manure as reckless, and concluded that Dyer, with all his years of experience, should have known better.
In a case brought by the Environment Agency, the court heard that agency officers went to the field in January 2023 following several reports of pollution in a tributary of the River Isle.
The pollution was traced to a large structure made from farmyard manure which had been constructed to store slurry.
Drinking water contaminated
Part of one of the walls had collapsed resulting in the entire store contents pouring out and causing widespread contamination and damage.
The slurry flowed across two fields and down the hillside into a wooded area.
Extensive contamination occurred within the wooded area where natural springs supply drinking water for several properties on the Chilworthy Estate.
The Estate provided bottled drinking water to all residents as soon as they became aware of the potential pollution of their water supply.
A wild swimming pond at a nearby glamping site had also been polluted with slurry.
'Expressed regret'
In a statement submitted to the Environment Agency, Derek Dyer admitted that he and his son had used the rented field for the store because they "did not have sufficient slurry storage".
He expressed regret for what happened, believing the makeshift store would hold up slurry until it could be spread, but claimed the heavy rain had caused it to collapse.
Dave Womack of the Environment Agency said: "In over 30 years of regulating farms I have never seen such extensive contamination by slurry.
"If farmers are concerned about the storage capacity of existing facilities, we would advise that they contact their local Environment Agency office and discuss proposals to ensure the environment is properly protected and valuable nutrient resources aren’t wasted."
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