In a swift message to those companies who flout the law and continue to discharge illegal waste into the public sewer system, Seven Trent Water have just prosecuted and won a case against Simplex Metal Finishers for their inappropriate disposal of trade effluent.
In the trial at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on the 10th of August, Simplex Metal Finishers were found guilty to have disposed of trade effluent into a public sewer on their site. It was heard they had been fined previously for similar incidents in 200 and 2008. They were fined a sum of £3,000 and ordered to pay legal costs.
The waste water services director for Severn Trent Water, Simon Cocks, stated:
“The limits we set to regulate trade discharges are calculated to ensure they do not adversely effect the capacity of our sewage works to efficiently treat sewage, so exceeding this consent is not only illegal; it can also damage the sewage treatment process and so risk causing harm to the environment.
“Our customers pay for damage to the sewer network and the treatment works, so it is important that we prosecute offenders in appropriate cases and take action to recover costs where possible.
“Rather than having to take action in court, we would prefer to work together with businesses to prevent any breaches occurring in the first place.”