Wellington farmer sentenced to probation

Wellington dairy farmer David Bartlett has been given a 14-week suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £10,000 costs after repeatedly allowing slurry to flow into a stream near his farm.

Bartlett, 70, of Upcott Dairy Farm in Sampford Arundel, Wellington, appeared for sentencing before District Judge Brereton at Taunton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, July 18.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of polluting the Westford Stream, a tributary of the River Tone, and was also ordered to pay victim compensation of £154.

In a case brought by the Environment Agency, the court found that the farm had long been improperly storing manure and that the company had received several warnings in the past for polluting the Westford Stream.

In October 2022, officials installed remote monitoring devices on the creek, which confirmed that pollution continued to occur regularly.

Using remote monitoring data, officials went to the monitoring site in December 2022 and found that the streambed was heavily contaminated with sewage fungi, indicating ongoing pollution.

Poor water quality

Further upstream towards Upcott Dairy Farm, colonies of mosquito larvae were seen. This type of pollutant-tolerant organism is associated with poor water quality. When stones were turned over in the riverbed, no invertebrate life forms were detected, which is another indication of the poor water quality.

Near the farm, one of the officers noticed a significant amount of sewage that looked and smelled like manure suddenly leaking out of a nearby ditch. The source was quickly traced to an overflowing underground manure tank at the Upcott Dairy Farm.

Officials also examined the system used to spread the manure on the fields. Typically, farmers use manure to provide nutrients to their crops or grass. Bartlett used a simple pipe to dispose of the manure in a single location.

Although no manure was being discharged at the time of inspection of the spill event, it was clear that there was significant manure contamination at the end of the pipe and that manure had leaked across the field toward the Westford Creek.

A subsequent visit revealed that slurry had been pumped onto flooded land without any attempt to use it to benefit the crop. The slurry was several centimetres thick in the field, suggesting that it had been pumped in the same place over a long period of time.

Down in the field, a significant build-up of mud and silt had formed on either side of the gate crossing the stream, again presenting a risk of further pollution of the stream from runoff.

Investigation shows that stream is affected over a length of 2.5 km

The investigation and a biologist’s report confirmed that the Westford Stream had been subjected to repeated acute and ongoing chronic slurry pollution. Poor slurry storage had resulted in the slurry being inappropriately pumped onto a single piece of land where it was likely to run off and cause pollution.

Despite repeated warnings, Bartlett had failed to install slurry storage facilities that would allow slurry to be stored during winter when soil conditions are unsuitable.

The report found that there were “significant negative impacts on the aquatic invertebrate community and water quality along a 2.5 km long Westford Stream.”

Bartlett submitted a statement to the Environment Agency in which he made some concessions and suggested that others, such as his neighbour and the local authority, were responsible for the incident. He denied deliberately pumping slurry into the watercourse.

Judge Brereton said there were significant aggravating circumstances in the case. These included that Bartlett had previously been cautioned for pollution, that he had failed to carry out adequate inspections or make structural improvements in the form of an appropriate, compliant slurry storage system capable of storing slurry, and that he had received funds from the Rural Payments Agency to fund infrastructure that would improve the environment and not cause significant, ongoing pollution incidents.

Farmer has repeatedly “ignored” advice

David Womack of the Environment Agency said:

This farmer has caused numerous environmental pollution incidents over the years and has repeatedly failed to follow the advice given or to improve the facilities for storing or properly using manure.

For over 30 years, laws have been in place requiring all livestock farmers to have storage facilities capable of storing at least four months’ slurry production. The Reduction and Prevention of Diffuse Pollution in Agriculture Regulations 2018 now also require farmers to plan all slurry applications to reduce the risk of pollution. Pumping slurry onto flooded land is unlawful and likely to cause diffuse pollution.

We hope that Mr Bartlett will now work with us to voluntarily improve the facilities at Upcott Dairy Farm. If he does not, we will not hesitate to use other legislative powers to reduce the risk of further pollution.

background

The fees

On and before 2 December 2022, you, David Bartlett, caused an unauthorised water discharge activity, namely the discharge of toxic, noxious or environmentally harmful substances from Upcott Dairy Farm, Sampford Arundel, Wellington, Somerset, into inland waters.

Contrary to regulations 12(1)(b) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

On and before December 2, 2022, you, David Bartlett, a land manager, failed to ensure that organic matter, namely livestock manure, was not applied to agricultural land that was waterlogged, flooded, or snow-covered by applying organic fertilizer to waterlogged soils

Contrary to regulations 3(a) and 11 of the Reduction and Prevention of Diffuse Pollution from Agriculture (England) Regulations 2018

By 2 December 2022, you, David Bartlett, as a land manager, had failed to ensure that whenever organic or synthetic fertiliser was applied to agricultural land, the application was planned so as not to create a significant risk of diffuse agricultural pollution.

Contrary to regulations 4(1)(a)(ii) and 11 of the Reduction and Prevention of Diffuse Pollution from Agriculture (England) Regulations 2018