Businessmen jailed over illegal Derry dump that could cost £700m to clean up
"This was an abhorrent environmental crime of unprecedented proportions"
Two Northern Ireland businessmen have been jailed after pleading guilty to a range of waste offences over one of Europe’s largest illegal waste dumps.
Stormont’s environment minister, Andrew Muir, branded their crimes “abhorrent” and said there could be “merit” in holding a public inquiry into what happened.
Paul Doherty, 67, and 56-year-old Gerry Farmer were sentenced to a combined 33 months for their roles in Mobuoy illegal waste dump on the outskirts of Derry city.
Judge Rafferty said the defendants had been "entirely motivated by financial gain" after the court heard the amount of waste illegally disposed of at the site could have potentially generated around £30m for Doherty's company, Campsie Sand & Gravel Ltd, and over £13m for Farmer’s firm, City Industrial Waste Ltd.
Doherty, from Derry’s Culmore Road, pleaded guilty to seven offences between 2007 and 2013 and was handed a 12 month term; while Farmer, of Westlake in Derry admitted to three waste offences from 2011-2013 and was sentenced to 21 months.
‘Punishment doesn’t fit the crime’
Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan says the sentences do not reflect the severity of the crime, which saw around 636,000 tonnes of waste dumped across two sites thought to cover more than 100 acres of land beside designated Area of Special Scientific Interest, the River Faughan.
Mr Durkan added: “These men profited to the tune of over £40m by illegal dumping waste right beside our city’s main drinking water supply.
“While I welcome that this matter has finally been brought before the courts and dealt with after numerous delays… given the scale of the dumping and the harm caused, it feels like the punishment handed down hardly fits the crime.
“The impact of these crimes has been felt right throughout our society, with the A6 road project being delayed as a result with a knock on effect on the North West’s economy. We are now looking at a bill of up to £700m to clean up this site at a time when the public purse is under significant pressure.
“It’s fair to say the two men convicted did not carry out these crimes alone and I reiterate the SDLP’s call for a full public inquiry into the scandal at Mubuoy Dump.”
‘History of repeated non-compliances’
The 2013 Mills Review into Mobuoy outlined how illegal waste was deposited in an area of almost 1.4km in and around a licensed Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) owned and run by City & Industrial Waste Ltd, with most of the waste being buried in sand and gravel pits originally excavated by Campsie Sand & Gravel Ltd.
It stated that the MRF site, which was regulated by NIEA, had “a history of repeated non-compliances” and that site regulation “was weak given the operator repeatedly broke its waste licence conditions”.
The Mills Review also found there were a number of complaints about the site, not all of which were fully investigated and that it was possible, that at least one of the complaints could have led to the discovery of illegal dumping as early as 2008.
A licence was first issued for the MRF facility in November 2004 and reissued in May 2009. According to the Mills Report there were 42 inspection visits resulting in nine warning letters, 17 notices and four licence suspensions for a variety of non-compliance issues until its licence was revoked in June 2013.
‘An abhorrent environmental crime’
Commenting on the conclusion of the criminal case against Doherty and Farmer, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister, Andrew Muir, said: “This was an abhorrent environmental crime of unprecedented proportions carried out over many years as part of a deliberate and sophisticated operation by criminals seeking to profit from the illegal disposal of controlled waste.
“Despite the complexity, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency worked with the Public Prosecution Service to build a case against the defendants, who pled guilty in the face of the evidence presented.”
According to DAERA, NIEA Financial Investigation & Business Support Branch is continuing its financial investigation into the defendants under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
They said in a statement that Minister Muir also intends to launch a public consultation on the draft Remediation Strategy for Mobuoy, developed alongside specialist contaminated land experts, soon. It will focus on long-term remediation of the site in a bid to protect the River Faughan, drinking water supply and to improve groundwater quality. To date, NIEA says it has found no adverse impact on the safety of drinking water supplied from the river.
Minister Muir added: “In addition, the Independent Panel on strengthening environmental governance is progressing its work at pace which will enable me to make proposals to the Executive on the way forward this autumn. Work to achieve a more streamlined and effective penalty regime for environmental crimes is also being progressed.”