Consequences of legislative breaches

Regulatory authorities in the UK generally prefer a non-combative approach to achieving compliance. Local authorities will normally be sympathetic towards manufacturers that are seen to be making progress towards compliance. Where progress is not evident, an enforcement notice may be served requiring compliance within a stipulated period. Failure to comply may result in prosecution - generally in a Magistrate's Court with a fine of up to £20,000. The more sizeable the offence and the greater the size of the offending company, the higher the chances of a case going to the Crown Court where fines can be unlimited. Examples of the maximum fines / imprisonment for breaches of environmental legislation are provided below:

Legislation	Offence	Magistrate's Court	Crown Court
Environmental Protection Act	Authorisation breach	£20,000 fine &/or 3 months in prison	Unlimited fine &/or 2 years in prison
Water Resources Act	Unconsented discharge to controlled waters	£20,000 fine &/or 3 months in prison	Unlimited fine &/or 2 years in prison
Water Industry Act	Unconsented discharge to foul sewer	£20,000 fine	Unlimited fine
Special Waste Regulations	Breach of requirements	£5,000 fine	Unlimited fine &/or 2 years in prison
Producer Responsibility for Packaging Waste	Lack of / incorrect data provision, failure to meet obligation	£5,000 fine	Unlimited fine

Regulators such as the Environment Agency can provide helpful advice to minimise potential risks, but they are under a duty to consider the prosecution of actual unconsented discharges and pollution incidents. The table below gives an idea of potential pollution costs, though none of these incidents relate to ground / groundwater contamination which can be more expensive by several orders of magnitude.

Any of the below non-compliances could potentially occur on a furniture manufacturing site. Of particular note is the incident involving a printing company which spilled just 22 litres of toluene - a solvent used by many furniture manufacturers for thinning and cleaning purposes. The solvent entered surface water drains and then a brook where it is estimated to have killed over 4,000 fish.

Personal liability also exists for environmental damage. If an offence is committed by a company under the Environmental Protection Act or the Water Resources Act, any director or manager will also be guilty if it can be proved that the offence was committed with his consent, or was attributable to any neglect by him. This may result in imprisonment for up to two years.

Company	Non-compliance	Cost
Examples of environmental prosecutions
Furniture Manufacturer, Newark	Consignment of “empty” coating containers in wood waste skip. Two drums still contained coatings. Company fined for three offences: Breach of Special Waste Regulations - improper disposal Duty of Care - for failing to generate transfer documents Disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause harm to human health or pollution.	£6,000
Timber company, Essex	Spillage of timber treatment chemicals was thought to have been contained in a bund - but bund was unlined and the preservative seeped into a local watercourse, poisoning fish and invertebrates	£6,000
Furniture manufacturer	Consignment of 59 x 25 litre drums containing coating residues. Several drums had no lid or were badly sealed. Company fined for: Breach of Duty of Care - no written description Failing to pre-notify under special waste regulations The coating company was the waste transporter and they were also fined the same amount	£2,050
Printing company	Solvent spillage entered surface water drains and subsequently a brook	£8,114
Animal renderer	Non compliance with air pollution control authorisation conditions Non compliance with air pollution control authorisation conditions - the two fines led to bankruptcy	£216k £330k
Waste management company	Illegal deposit of wastes for which the Director received a jail sentence	18 months

Consequences of legislative breaches

Examples of environmental prosecutions