A Worcestershire company has made a contribution of over £1million after it admitted causing a pollution incident which killed 1,000 fish.
An investigation by the Environment Agency has ended in Mettis Aerospace of Redditch making the payment under an Enforcement Undertaking, after a solution of caustic and sodium aluminate leaked into an unprotected surface water drain and into an adjacent watercourse in 2018.
An EU is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for their offending as an alternative to prosecution.
Mettis Aerospace accepted that discharges from its metals installation, a site permitted by the Environment Agency, had caused a fish-kill incident in 2018.
The discharges, from the site’s surface water drainage system, arose from the uncontrolled overfilling of a process tank on the site and inadequate containment measures.
This meant a solution of caustic and sodium aluminate was able to leak into an unprotected surface water drain and into an adjacent watercourse. Approximately 1,000 fish were killed.
As an alternative to prosecution for the offence, Mettis offered an Enforcement Undertaking including spending some £504,240 on site infrastructure improvements.
The Enforcement Undertaking has seen the firm make donations to environmental enhancement projects in Redditch and the Black Country totalling £379,500.
It has given £139,500 to Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust £5,000 to Worcestershire Wildlife Trust £55,000 to Forge Mill Needle Museum and £180,000 to Redditch Borough Council.
It also had to pay £111,268 initial pollution clean-up costs, £9,324 for the EAs initial investigation costs and £504,240 on site infrastructure improvements, training and management systems development and certification costs. It has also had to pay £7,000 in loss of amenity compensation and £13,026 to cover the EAs costs for assessing compliance with the EU.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Protecting the environment and taking action against those that damage or threaten this is our utmost priority.
“While we will always prosecute in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.
“They enable businesses to become more compliant and prevent repeat offending by improving their procedures, helping ensure future compliance with environmental requirements.”
Mettis Aerospace, on Windsor Road, designs, manufactures, and assembles precision forged and machined components for the aerospace, defense, and specialist sectors.
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