Cornish farmer fined over digestate spill killing river fish
Spill leads to lasting damage to River Ottery ecosystem
A farmer from Cornwall has been ordered to pay more than £3,700 due to an incident where digestate from his farm contaminated the River Ottery, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of fish.
Norman Osborne, a 57-year-old from Tobarn, Jacobstow, was involved in a fish kill incident that took place in May 2022.
During a hearing at Truro Magistrates Court, Osborne was fined £215 after admitting to causing a water discharge activity and was directed to cover the Environment Agency's costs, totaling £3,550.
The incident occurred when Environment Agency officers responded to reports of dead fish in the River Ottery on 22nd May 2022.
They found that approximately 2,300 gallons of digestate had leaked from a tank on Osborne's farm into the watercourse.
Digestate is a liquid material resulting from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste, commonly used as fertiliser.
However, it is highly polluting, containing substantial levels of ammonia and nitrogen.
Osborne was transferring digestate from a tank to a tanker to distribute on his farmland when a hose broke, causing the spill.
Despite washing the spill into the watercourse, Osborne failed to alert the Environment Agency about the incident.
The pollution led to elevated ammonia levels, along with sludge and microplastics contamination across 3.5 km of the watercourse.
There were 471 dead fish documented, though the actual count is believed to be as many as 1,610, including species such as Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, and Bullheads.
Two years on, the river's fish population has not returned to its pre-spill levels.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “This pollution led to a major fish kill and lasting damage to the watercourse. Osborne’s failure to swiftly report the incident to the Environment Agency exacerbated the significant impact of the spill.
“Digestate is highly polluting and should be handled with great care. If a pollution does occur, farmers must contact us as soon as possible so we can provide them with guidance on mitigation or containment and take action to prevent further harm to the environment.”