A HAMPSHIRE food producer has been ordered to pay out £3,500 in fines and costs for discharging poor-quality effluent from its chicken processing plant into a brook near Blandford in Dorset.
A routine visit on January 19, this year by an environment protection officer to Webbs County Foods premises at Okeford Fitzpaine, found the effluent from the treatment plant was a brownish colour. High levels of ammonia were also recorded.
A subsequent visit on March 8, also found problems with the discharge.
The technical manager of the site confirmed there were problems with the plant and apologised for not informing the Environment Agency.
Magistrates at Blandford heard Webbs County Foods Ltd of Moorside Road, Winchester, admit two offences of contravening its consent to discharge effluent into a tributary.
The company was fined £1,500 for each offence with £500 costs.
"Every holder of a consent to discharge effluent must take every effort to ensure that the effluent meets the required standard," explained Nicola Marshall for the Environment Agency.
"If there are problems at a treatment plant it is important that the operators inform us straight away so we can work with them to prevent environmental damage."
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