Indian restaurant leaves bad taste in nearby stream
Posted: Wednesday 24th January 2007
The manager of an Indian restaurant in Ware has been fined £15,000 after allowing untreated sewage to spill into a nearby stream.
Mohammed Akhtar Abul, 30, of High Road, High Cross, Ware, Herts, was responsible for complying with a consent to discharge treated sewage from the Raj Villa Restaurant in High Road, Ware, Herts, which has its own private sewage plant, as the main sewerage network does not cover the area.
However the discharged sewage has to meet strict cleanliness standards set by the Environment Agency. Hertford Magistrates heard how one sample taken by the Environment Agency was more than 20 times the limit.
Mr Abul pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching the conditions of his discharge consent. The court fined Mr Abul £3,000 for the first offence, which was increased by £500 for each further offence up to £4,500. He was also ordered to pay £2,045 costs.
The Environment Agency issued the consent in July 2003 and Mr Abul had previously been fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £1,076.25 after appeal for five charges of breaching the consent between 25 September 2003 and 17 June 2004.
Clare Richards, investigating officer, said: "Mr Abul has been warned repeatedly and even prosecuted for failing to protect the environment in Ware, and yet has failed to take action again.
"Despite attempts to encourage Mr Abul to take his responsibility seriously, he failed to restore the sewage treatment works to full working order. When we returned we continued to find sewage readings five times the limit."
When officers went to monitor the stream they discovered that despite repeated warnings the restaurant had failed to treat the discharge effectively, leaving the stream smelling strongly of sewage.
The conditions of the consent and the Environment Agency’s monitoring policy aims to mitigate the polluting effect of the discharge. It sets levels for water quality parameters, such as solids, and biochemical oxygen demand, which can all be measured in effluent.
