The Court of Appeal has reduced a fine imposed on Thames Water for spilling sodium hypochlorite into the River Wandle in September 2007 during cleaning at Beddington sewage plant which killed 7,000 fish.
On Friday 19th February three Court of Appeal judges ruled that the £125,000 fine imposed in January 2009 at Croydon Crown Court was "manifestly excessive" and reduced it to £50,000. Thames Water had pleaded guilty to an offence of causing polluting matter to enter controlled waters.
Commenting on the Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce the fine imposed on Thames Water from £125,000 to £50,000, Dr Paul Leinster, Environment Agency Chief Executive, said:
“We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal reduced the level of the fine. The pollution caused by Thames Water in 2007 spread for nearly 5 km of the River Wandle, and had a catastrophic impact on the local wildlife. This incident saw 20 years of careful river restoration work decimated in a matter of hours.
“In serious pollution incidents such as this, we would still like to see higher fines in addition to any action taken by the offending company, to provide a stronger deterrent to polluters. There are still an average of two serious pollution incidents a day and this is two too many. Of these water companies are responsible for more than one serious pollution incident a week.
"But we welcome the incentive this decision creates for polluters to put right the damage they cause, quickly and voluntarily. The Court recognised that ‘the failures in this case make the offence an extremely serious one of its type’. As a result, the Court considered that a fine of £250,000 to £300,000 would have been appropriate, as well as an order for compensation.
“The main reason the Court decided to reduce the fine so significantly today was because of the steps Thames Water took to put right the environmental damage they had caused. The court took into account Thames Water's ‘unprecedented payment and pledge of the total sum of £500,000’ for local restoration and environmental improvement projects.
“New civil sanctions powers which we expect to receive in the next few months will also give us a more flexible toolkit to require businesses that cause pollution to pay for the cost of repairing the damage.”