Two Nottinghamshire farming companies have been fined a total of £28,800 for causing pollution to a pond through the discharge of maize silage effluent.
The Environment Agency found that due to the excessive amount of maize stored coupled with the manner in which it was kept, caused a runoff of the highly polluting maize silage effluent. There was also a failure to comply with the Silage, Slurry & Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO) Regulations in relation to another pile of maize.
The incident resulted in the death of 35 fish and at the time caused a significant impact on the local groundwater.
Both companies pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching environmental regulations following a number of pollution incidents in October and November 2015, all arising from a maize storage/ clamping operation at an anaerobic digestion plant.
