Pig slaughtering firm fined €1,000 for pollution
McCarren's allowed animal blood to seep into sewer
McCarren & Company Limited, Farnham Road, Cavan was fined €1,000 and ordered to pay €8,000 in costs to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at Cavan District Court last Thursday when the company pleaded guilty to allowing blood to seep into the sewer.
The pig slaughtering facility was charged specifically with failing to comply with the conditions of an Integrated Pollution Control Licence granted by the Environmental Protection Agency on October 16, 1997, by causing specified emissions to sewer, which exceeded the emission limit values set out in the licence within the period commencing May 17, 2010 and ending January 26, 2011.
Ms Boyce, an inspector from the EPA, told the court that there was slaughter and processing of pigs carried on at the facility and effluent arises from the processing procedure and washing and this involves blood. The washing goes into a treatment system and then onto the Cavan waste water treatment plant.
The court heard that the county council caretaker for the waste water treatment plant realised that there was blood coming into the plant.
Under cross examination by defence counsel, witness agreed that the emissions were into a sewer as opposed to a water main or a river and those emissions would ultimately be treated at the plant.
Ms Boyce also accepted that McCarren's had engaged an external consultant to advise them on how best way to address the situation and they identified machinery that would address the EPA's concerns in relation to the emission levels. A contract has been signed in relation to that machinery and it will cost approximately €95,000 and a deposit of €28,000 had been paid.
It was pointed out that it will take between six and eight weeks before the machine is installed fully and there is a contractor cleaning the tank on a regular basis in the interim.
Judge Sean MacBride said he was satisfied that the defendant is taking pro-active steps to ensure that this is not going to be a problem long-term and within the next six to eight weeks, it will be history. He noted that there had been no previous convictions.
The judge said that he believed that the defendant had met the case fairly and he was going to impose a fine on the first summons and take the others into account.
He was aware from public knowledge that McCarren's had been in Cavan town for 150 years. Judge MacBride felt that they had pro-actively dealt with the matter.
He then proceeded to impose a fine of €1,000 on the first count, plus costs of €8,000. McCarren's were given four months to pay the money. He took three other counts into account.
