Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRUARY 2017 | 5 Environmental charities are to receive more than £1.5M as a result of recent enforcement action by the Environment Agency against 26 polluting companies, with Northumbrian Water and Anglian Water among those to have made payments. The EA's latest list of enforcement undertakings – where companies have agreed to a payment to a charity or environmental project to compensate for environmental breaches – shows that 26 companies agreed to such payments between August 2016 and January 2017, with payouts totalling £1,564,761.09. The newly-published list reveals that Northumbrian Water agreed to pay £375,000 to four local river trusts following an incident in which raw sewage was accidentally pumped into a tributary of the River Tyne. Anglian Water made two separate payments, both worth £100,000, for causing pollution incidents which EA enforcement results in £1.5M charity undertakings killed fish. Some of the other companies named on the list which made the largest payments include Filippo Berio, Heineken, Tata Steel, Kerry Ingredients Ltd and Sandoz Ltd. As well as making a suitable payment to an appropriate environmental charity, each company has accepted liability, demonstrated restoration of harm and invested to reduce the risk of similar breaches occurring in future. The Environment Agency's ability to accept Enforcement Undertakings was extended in 2015 to a far wider range of offences. The Environment Agency is increasingly using this method of enforcement for suitable cases to swi˜ly restore the environment, improve company practices and avoid longer criminal court cases, although prosecutions are still carried out in response to the most serious cases. The sale of Dee Valley Water to Severn Trent has been given the green light by the High Court. The court hearing was the latest instalment in an ongoing dispute over the sale of Dee Valley to water and wastewater company Severn Trent. Severn Trent's attempt to acquire Dee Valley has been attended by multiple obstacles. It first came up against a rival bid by infrastructure investor Ancala; a˜er outbidding its rival, final approval of the deal was postponed following a shareholder vote Severn Trent Dee Valley deal approved by High Court on 13 January this year which led to a legal challenge. The delay followed the purchase of 445 shares by an unidentified buyer who then rapidly redistributed them to a number of individuals. Votes tied to these redistributed shares were not counted by the chairman of the extraordinary general meeting at which the shareholder vote took place, and the challenge was raised against the chairman's decision to exclude the votes. The failure of this legal challenge now means the acquisition can go ahead. www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | mARch 2017 | 5 Radar sensor £460* VEGAPULS WL S 61 ▪ Measuring range up to 8 m ▪ Use outdoors without restriction ▪ Flood-proof IP68 housing ▪ Operation via Bluetooth with Smartphone, Tablet or PC * Scaled pricing: 1 to 3 units £460 | 4 to 9 units 10% discount | 10+ units, price on request Further information: www.vega.com/wls61 Call +44 1444 870055 Low-cost radar sensor for water level measurement One sensor, all round capability - Reliable level control for water and sewage treatment facilities, pumping stations and rain overflow basins. Level sensing for sludge processing and AD units. Open channel flow measurement, open water and flood level monitoring.