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Annan farm partnership given £600 penalty for failure to maintain slurry storage

Messrs William Forrest were served the Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) after it was found they failed to comply with a General Binding Rule designed to protect the water environment from spills.  

Slurry storage systems need to be managed carefully to ensure the distance from the top of the store to the slurry level, known as freeboard, is maintained. This minimises the potential for slurry overtopping and escaping. There are different freeboard levels for different types of stores. For earth banked lined lagoons, the freeboard requirement is 750mm. However, when SEPA officers visited the farm in January and February 2024 they found that two slurry lagoons were full, and levels were not being managed in a way to maintain the required freeboard.  

SEPA is satisfied that Messrs William Forrest was found to have carried out a controlled activity referred to in Part 1 of schedule 3 of CAR 2011 of failing to comply with a general binding rule and an FMP is appropriate in this case. 

Stephen Field, SEPA’s National Rural Unit Manager, said:  

“Slurry is a valuable source of nutrients on the farm but if it's not managed correctly and escapes from a storage system it can cause pollution to both surface and ground waters. In this incident, the 750mm freeboard level was not maintained, which greatly increased the risk of slurry over topping and escaping. It is a reminder of why it’s important that farmers are mindful of freeboard levels and what can happen if they are not maintained. 

“Messrs William Forrest should have been aware of the regulatory requirements when it comes to the collection and storage of slurry on the farm. SEPA staff have undertaken extensive work, including pollution prevention inspections, in the Dumfries Coastal priority catchment and have been working with the farming sector offering advice and guidance on how to become and remain compliant with the Regulations. 

“This civil penalty should act as a warning to others that we will take action against those who ignore Scotland’s environmental regulations. If you’re not sure what authorisations are required, get in touch with us, we’re happy to provide advice and guidance.”  

Civil penalties

SEPA can issue FMPs for relevant offences - they are not available for all offences. FMPs are normally appropriate where an offence has not caused environmental harm or has caused minimal environmental harm with no lasting environmental effects or impacts on communities, for administrative offences and where little (if any) financial benefit arises from the offence.  

They sit alongside other enforcement tools available to SEPA staff, including advice and guidance, final warning letters, statutory enforcement notices, other civil penalties, including Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) and reports to the Procurator Fiscal.   

 SEPA’s enforcement action is designed to secure compliance with regulatory requirements, protecting and improving the environment. It aims to bring activity under regulatory control, stop offending, stop harm or reduce the risk of harm arising from non-compliance. It is also designed to ensure restoration or remediation of harm caused by regulatory non-compliance where appropriate.

Notes to Editors

• SEPA is satisfied that Messrs William Forrest was found to have carried out a controlled activity referred to in Part 1 of schedule 3 of CAR 2011, namely an offence under Regulation 44(1)(b) of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulation 2011 (as amended) (“CAR2011”) of failing to comply with a general binding rule. 

  General Binding Rule 32 (l) of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities)(Scotland) Regulations 2011 states that “where a slurry storage system has walls which are made of earth, the system must not be filled to a level which allows less than 750 millimetres of freeboard”. 

  More information about General Binding Rules and how they protect the water environment are available at Diffuse pollution in the rural environment | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) 

• The level of FMPs is set out in The Environmental Regulation (Enforcement Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 which provides SEPA with the power to issue penalties and accept undertakings for relevant environmental offences.  
• SEPA’s Enforcement policy and Guidance on the use of enforcement action underpins decision-making in relation to enforcement action.  
• The Lord Advocate’s guidelines to SEPA also supports enforcement decision making. Where SEPA is considering issuing monetary penalties or accepting a voluntary undertaking, the Guidelines provide a framework for deciding whether SEPA may take such action, or whether the case should instead be referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for consideration of prosecution.  
• Whilst penalties are initially paid to SEPA (which also undertakes debt recovery on unpaid penalties), article 12 of the Environmental Regulation (Enforcement Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 provides that where SEPA receives such sums, they must be paid to the Scottish Ministers.  It is understood that Scottish Ministers put such sums to the Scottish Consolidated Fund.