Two More Victories For The ACA

ACA wins damages for anglers as Environment Agency’s hands are tied The Anglers’ Conservation Association (ACA) has won £2,000 damages on behalf of the Guisborough Angling Club, an ACA member, for the pollution of Howl Beck.

In June 2003, a seal on the main sewer at Tocketts Pumping Station, owned by Northumbrian Water, burst causing storage tanks to be filled with the excess sewage. Once the tanks filled, the water utility discharged raw sewage into the Beck from the upstream pumping station. This discharge lasted for 14 hours, devastating 4.5 km of the river and killing over 6000 fish in the process; around 3,200 brown trout alone were killed.

The Environment Agency was unable to prosecute Northumbrian Water as it took the view that no criminal offence had been committed. The ACA argued that although the water company did have consent to discharge sewage into the river, such a consent is not a defence to a civil claim where a nuisance has been caused. The water utility was also negligent in failing to use tankers to remove excess sewage as advised by the Environment Agency.

Northumbrian Water denied liability and so the ACA was left with no alternative but to issue proceedings a court. Shortly afterwards, the water utility offered to settle the case. The damages will enable the GAC to re-stock the river, which is very slowly recovering from this catastrophe.

Mark Lloyd, Executive Director at the ACA commented, “it is clear that water companies have a vital role in preventing water pollution. Where they fail to keep our waterways pollution-free, they deserve to find themselves on the receiving end of legal action.

This case again shows that the ACA will make sure that all our member clubs will receive the necessary legal protection, ensuring that polluters, whoever they are, pay to restore fisheries to their original state, even where the Agency is unable to prosecute.

ACA Wins Compensation after Anglian Water Kills 1,000 Coarse Fish

The Anglers’ Conservation Association (ACA) has secured £2,500 in compensation on behalf of the Whittlesey Angling Association (WAA), an ACA member club, for a pollution of Whittlesey Dyke.

In September 2004, a discharge of 2 million litres of raw sewage from Whittlesey Sewage Treatment Works caused a huge plume of polluted water to affect 3km of the Dyke, killing at least a thousand fish, most of which were roach and bream.

The Environment Agency had successfully prosecuted Anglian Water for the offence and the ACA then followed up with a civil claim for damages, which will allow the Whittlesey Angling Association to re-stock and carry out other fisheries enhancement work.

Whittlesey AA also hosts the annual British Pike Championships final, in association with Angling Times and Masterline. This year’s final will be held on Saturday 11 November and up to 450 of the country’s top pike anglers are expected to compete.

Mark Lloyd, Executive Director at the ACA said:

”The ACA is fighting at a national level to get more investment into sewage infrastructure to prevent this kind of pollution happening in the first place, and to ensure that water companies have to pay for the damage they do to rivers.

Our water environment is very important to rural communities as anglers contribute significantly to rural economies. The ACA British Pike Championships Final alone will bring an estimated £40,000 to the Whittlesey area. Fines should better reflect the impact that pollution can have on this crucial income.”

The ACA will do everything it can to fight to make polluters pay properly for damage to fisheries, wherever its member clubs’ waters are affected.”