Out-Law News 2 min. read
19 Dec 2012, 10:18 am
Doonin Plant Limited and its director, Gary Doonin, were found guilty of keeping the waste in "a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment" at a site in Armadale. Both were also found guilty of keeping controlled waste including car tyres, plasterboard and plastic food packaging without the authority of a waste management licence.
The fine follows a number of previous convictions of the company in respect of environmental offences, including a £90,000 fine in 2010 for waste offences. Doonin could face prison if any further offences are committed in the next year.
Ian Buchanan, area manager of environmental regulator the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said that the fine was the largest cumulative penalty ever handed out by the procurator fiscal for an environmental offence in Scotland.
"Justice has been done for Scotland's environment," he said. "The sentence delivered is a positive result for the public, who care about the environment, and legitimate waste operators who have been undermined by the actions of Mr Doonin and Doonin Plant Limited. By carrying out such activities, the company and its director demonstrated a complete lack of consideration for the environment and we hope the sentence acts as a deterrent to any operators considering breaking the law."
He added that the conviction of Doonin himself should "act as a warning to company directors" that the regulator would consider offences committed by individuals as part of its investigation of environmental crimes.
Companies wishing to carry out waste management activities must apply to SEPA for a licence under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations or the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations. When issuing a licence, SEPA considers a range of environmental factors and whether the applicant is a "fit and proper" person to hold a licence. Some activities involving waste materials are exempt from the licensing regime provided that they meet certain requirements, including a requirement that the activity must not endanger human health or harm the environment. Exempt activities must be registered with SEPA.
According to the BBC, Doonin had claimed to have waste management licence exemptions in place at the time the offences were committed. These allowed him to store "up to 10,000 tonnes of waste at any one time", he said. The company will cease trading shortly; however, it has enough assets to pay a fine.
Environmental law expert Gordon McCreath of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the penalties handed to Doonin and the company showed a change in approach by the regulator and environmental prosecutors.
"Fines for environmental offences are almost always significantly lower in Scotland than in the rest of the UK," he said. "What this prosecution and the prosecutions preceding it show, however, is that where SEPA and the specialist environmental prosecutors believe the fine is unlikely to reflect the crime, they will now prosecute on indictment, before a jury, where the fine is unlimited and the maximum period of imprisonment is generally longer; also they will prosecute directors, as well as the company itself."
"Regulated operators should take note: with this success in the Doonin cases, we can expect to see more serious environmental cases taken on indictment and the average fine in Scotland rising closer to that of the UK," he added.
Craig Harris, head of the wildlife and environmental crime unit at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said that the company and its director had repeatedly acted with "a total disregard for the environment".
"The conviction was the result of a lengthy investigation by SEPA and prosecution by COPFS," he said. "The severity of the crimes against the environment was marked by this case being prosecuted before a jury and today's outcome. Today's judgment will send out a strong warning to any other unscrupulous businesses who conduct themselves in this illegal manner."
