Top News

A major UK aeronautical company has voluntarily paid £1,024,358 to rectify a pollution incident that killed about 1,000 fish. The incident in 2018 at Mettis Aerospace's metals installation site in Redditch, Worcestershire, occurred when a solution of caustic and sodium aluminate leaked into an unprotected surface water drain.

The Environment Agency (EA) explained that from there it spread into an adjacent watercourse and ended up causing the death of around 1,000 freshwater fish. As an alternative to prosecution for the offence, Mettis Aerospace offered an 'Enforcement Undertaking (EU)', including spending £504,240 on site infrastructure improvements.

An EU is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for offences committed. It is a legally binding voluntary agreement, that can be used when the EA has reasonable grounds to suspect an offence has occurred.

Accepting an EU is at the discretion of the EA - but enables firms and individuals who have damaged the environment to offer to address the cause and impact of their offending.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "Protecting the environment and taking action against those that damage or threaten this is our utmost priority.

"While we will always prosecute in the most serious cases, enforcement undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.

"They enable businesses to become more compliant and prevent repeat offending by improving their procedures, helping ensure future compliance with environmental requirements."

The EA said they launched an investigation after "discharges, from the site's surface water drainage system, arose from the uncontrolled overfilling of a process tank on the site and inadequate containment measures."

Mettis Aerospace Limited accepted that discharges from their metals installation, a site permitted by the Environment Agency, had caused an incident that killed fish.

The discharges "meant a solution of caustic and sodium aluminate was able to leak into an unprotected surface water drain and into an adjacent watercourse. Approximately 1,000 fish were killed."

Details of Mettis Aerospace Limited's Enforcement Undertaking include: Donations to environmental enhancement projects in Redditch and the Black Country totalling £379,500; Initial pollution clean-up costs of £111,268; Payment of the Environment Agency's initial investigation costs of £9,324; Site infrastructure improvements, training and management systems development and certification costs of £504,240; Loss of amenity compensation payments to local charities £7,000 and Payment of Environment Agency's costs for assessing compliance with the EU £13,026.

The four organisations who shared the £379,500 donations were: Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust £139,500; Worcestershire Wildlife Trust £5,000; Forge Mill Needle Museum £55,000; Redditch Borough Council £180,000.