Greencastle man fined £1,000 for pollution charge

A Greencastle man was fined £1,000 after pleading guilty to polluting the Owenkillew River at Omagh Magistrates Court earlier today.

Michael McCullagh (70), Gorticashel Road, Greencastle, was convicted under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 as amended.

Mr Michael McCullagh pleaded guilty and was fined £1,000 plus £15 Offenders Levy.

The Court heard that on October 17, 2023, NIEA Water Quality Inspectors responded to a report of water pollution impacting the Carnanransy Burn, a tributary of the Owenkillew River. The inspectors discovered the entire width of the bed of the waterway was covered with fungal growth. The source of pollution was traced upstream to a concrete pipe which was actively discharging agricultural effluent to the Carnanransy Burn. Upstream of the pipe, the waterway was visibly clean.

On the farm, close to the silos, the inspectors observed agricultural effluent being directed towards a collection tank. The collection tank was observed to be full and overflowing, resulting in dark-coloured liquid entering an open drainage channel, which was connected to the concrete pipe noted to be discharging to the waterway.

As part of the investigation, a statutory sample of the discharge was collected and analysed. The sample results indicated that the sample contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to aquatic life in a receiving waterway.

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24-hour NIEA Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.