Elwyn Gwyn Lewis of Mount Street, Welshpool pleaded guilty at Welshpool Magistrates Court on 16 February to one charge relating to polluting the Cyfronydd Brook.

Mr Lewis was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,884, along with a £15 victim surcharge.

For the Environment Agency, Jill Crawford told the court that on 17 August 2006, Environment Agency officers attended Welshpool to inspect a tributary of the Afon Banwy, known as the Cyfronydd Brook after a report of pollution by a local resident. A water sample was taken from the brook and showed that the water quality was poor.

Investigations continued at Hydan Fawr, Cyfronydd. Slurry and dirty water from a nearby pig farm were seen pooling in a field. A large area of land was heavily contaminated with pig slurry and dirty water which was flowing into the Cyfronydd Brook.

Environment Agency officers also saw the pig slurry entering a tributary of the Cyfronydd Brook through a white plastic pipe. The pipe was hidden in a trench with chippings lying on the top.
The Environment Agency contacted Mr Lewis to invite him for an interview, however he did not attend.

Mr Lewis failed to attend several court hearings throughout 2007 and 2008. He was arrested and brought before the courts in August 2009. Mr Lewis failed to attend the pre-trial hearing set and was finally detained to attend the hearing today. Offences were also committed under the Bail Act, but the court ordered no separate penalty for those offences.

Speaking after the case Jason Jones, an Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation said: “This was a deliberate act that led to the brook being filled with pig slurry and dirty water. It also meant that the fish population in the steam was affected. We want to work with farmers to avoid problems like this by offering advice and guidance.

“If you are having problems with slurry on your farm and need some advice contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506.”

In mitigation, the court heard that Mr Lewis was only the landowner when the incident occurred and he was not living at the property. The land was being rented out to a pig company and it was claimed that the incident occurred due to pigs chewing through the pipes.

In sentencing, the Magistrate said that due to the lack of responsibility from Mr Lewis the high pollution level was allowed to continue. It was also stressed that there had been a lack of cooperation with the court.

Charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991.