On 30 March, Belfast Crown Court granted a £236,554 confiscation order against John Spratt, 77, for keeping and disposing controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution and without a license.
Spratt pleaded guilty on 13 May 2019 to the charges and sentenced to three years in custody suspended for three years. The Court has given Spratt 3 months to pay the confiscation order with a default term set at three years imprisonment in the event of non-payment.
The Confiscation Order granted equates to the criminal benefit generated by Spratt from the illegal disposal of controlled waste at a site on Ballybeen Road, Comber, County Down.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) says, in 2015, officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) began investigating a site controlled and operated by Spratt which did not have a waste management license or planning approval.
At the site, NIEA says its officers observed two areas of in-fill consisting of plastic and textiles, as well as waste from construction and demolition controlled activities.
This was a significant pollution incident involving the illegal disposal and keeping of controlled waste without licenses or planning approval.
DAERA says infilling waste in this unauthorised area undercut the legitimate waste industry, evaded landfill tax and lead to environmental degradation.
Paul Donnelly, Chief Executive of the NIEA, commented: “This was a significant pollution incident involving the illegal disposal and keeping of controlled waste without licenses or planning approval.
“Environmental offenders can inflict significant and long-term damage on our environment, deprive communities of valuable natural resources and place a considerable burden on the public purse through remediation and clean up.
“NIEA will vigorously pursue anyone who damages our natural environment through the courts to ensure that we not only seek justice and damages but to ensure that we continue to protect our precious natural resources.”
