Four companies fined £470,000 over incidents

Four Yorkshire-based companies have been fined a total of £470,000 after breaching environmental permits.

The Environment Agency (EA) has instructed Cleveland Potash, Balfour Beatty, Energy Works (Hull) and GWE Biogas to pay local environmental groups following a number of pollution and non-compliance incidents.

As part of legally binding agreements, the companies are also required to take steps to prevent the incidents happening again.

EA area manager Martin Christmas said: "These four cases show that whether the harm comes from industry, construction or energy facilities, we will hold those responsible to account."

Cleveland Potash Limited, based at Boulby Mine near Whitby, have been ordered to pay £215,000 to the North York Moors National Park Authority following the discharge of mine brine into Easington Beck and Staithes Beck, which resulted in around 700 fish being killed in June 2022.

Balfour Beatty Group Ltd have been told to pay £200,000 to the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust following discharges of silt-contaminated water from its East Leeds Orbital Road construction site in 2020.

Energy Works (Hull) Ltd will contribute a total of £30,000 to three different charities following non-compliance with its fire protection plan at its Cleveland Street plant in Hull in September 2020.

GWE Biogas Ltd will contribute £22,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust after the unauthorised operation of an anaerobic digester tank at Sandhill Biogas Plant, near Driffield, in August 2023.

"Enforcement undertakings are an effective tool to ensure that money goes directly into the local environment," added Christmas.

All four companies have also been ordered to pay all of the EA's investigation costs.

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