Philip Paul White, of Birmingham Autobreakers was fined a total of 6,000 last Thursday after pleading guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court to two charges relating to the unauthorised keeping and disposal of controlled waste at his premises in William Henry Street, Aston, Birmingham.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Mr White was also ordered to pay costs of 1,253.
For the Agency, Mr Nicholas Cole told the court that Agency officers visited the site in early 1999 and advised Mr White that his vehicle dismantling business was in breach of the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. To comply with the legislation, a site operator must either hold a Waste Management Licence or meet certain criteria in order to register an exemption from the need to hold such a licence.
On 21 July 1999, Agency officers again visited the site and spoke to Mr White, who told them he intended to register an exemption. The officers explained the work he would need to carry out before exempted status could be achieved. Mr White undertook to inform the Agency of his claim of exempted status and to complete the agreed work by 26 September 1999. It was made clear to him that failure to adhere to these agreements could lead to prosecution.
On Thursday 22 March 2001, having received no formal notification of exemption, Agency officers visited the site and carried out a formal search. They found scrap vehicles containing oil, unbunded oil drums and oil spillages on the yard surface. The agreed site works had not been carried out and the business was not being operated in accordance with the requirements for an exempted site.
Complex
Speaking for the defendant, Mr Bloom of Jonas, Roy Bloom Solicitors, said in mitigation that his client should be given credit for entering an early guilty plea. His client’s business was complex.
Speaking after the case, Iain Storer, one of the Environment Protection Officers involved in the investigation, said: “Businesses such as vehicle dismantling have the potential to cause harm because of the nature and quantities of fluids associated with such an operation, such as oil, fuel, brake and clutch fluid and battery acid.
“If these substances are not handled with care they can contaminate the ground and the water environment. Sites which carry out this work need to make arrangements to limit the risk and a Waste Management Licence sets out the conditions under which such a business should operate.”
Penalties for not meeting the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 can include a fine of up to 20,000 and/or six months imprisonment.
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