Spill from South Lanarkshire distillery results in £600 penalty for whisky company
Date published: 14 October 2024
A South Lanarkshire distillery has been served a civil penalty of £600 by Scotland’s environment regulator for an unlicenced discharge from its premises.
RAER Scotch Whisky Ltd was served the Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) after the regulator found that a thermal and organic polluting discharge from Jackton Distillery polluted the Gill Burn.
When SEPA officers attended the site in March and June 2021, they saw a discharge flowing to the Gill Burn which was coming from the riverbank next to a holding tank structure at the rear of Jackton Distillery.
During site visits officers were advised by an employee that the holding tank structure was used to drain two effluent streams from the distillery process, including cooling water and pot ale (a liquid produced during the process of brewing beer).
There was no authorisation in place for the discharge of thermal and organic effluent to the water environment at the location.
Emails from a director of the company later confirmed the company had identified a discharge of water to the Gill Burn, caused by a ‘faulty hot water tank’ which had since been replaced.
Shona McConnell, SEPA Senior Manager – Environmental Performance, said:
“Discharges to our water environment need to be authorised to ensure they meet environmental standards, prevent pollution and protect ecosystems. RAER Scotch Whisky Ltd did not have an authorisation in place for this discharge and samples taken by our officers showed that there was an increase in temperature, ammonia levels and biological oxygen demand, all of which demonstrate that the discharge was thermal and from an organic source.
“Samples taken by SEPA scientists 100 metres downstream of the discharge point were compared to those taken 10 metres upstream, and these demonstrated a decline in ecological diversity due to the release. Organic pollution immediately downstream of the Distillery and growths of sewage fungus on the bed of the Gill Burn were also identified. However, there were no long-term impacts from the discharge.”
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 editor
SEPA is satisfied that RAER Scotch Whisky Ltd carried on a controlled activity, namely the discharge of thermal and organic effluent to the Gill Burn at NGR NS 58878 53337, an activity liable to cause pollution of the water environment, without the authority of an authorisation and contrary to Regulation 4 and Regulation 44(1)(a) of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011.
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.