MoreThanWaste.com - Stirling Council fined £7500 for leachate discharges from landfill (08/12/2006)

"Despite repeated discussions with Stirling Council, aimed at achieving a reduction in the leachate levels, routine sampling by SEPA identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of the limits imposed by SEPA"

Brian Roxburgh, SEPA

Stirling Council has been fined £7500 for discharging excessive amounts of leachate from its Lower Polmaise landfill site into the River Forth.

Surface waters from the Polmaise Landfill are discharged to the river at a specified location under a discharge consent. The discharge and the river are routinely sampled by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), to ensure the operator is complying with limits set.

There is an environmental risk from increased levels of leachate, as it can be highly polluting.
Leachate is contaminated water which results from rainfall or groundwater picking up pollutants from landfilled waste materials.

Routine sampling identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of consent limits and Stirling Council was required by SEPA to reduce them.

Further sampling revealed that the levels were in excess of the waste management licence conditions and SEPA held discussions with Stirling Council to try and resolve the problem.

Despite pre-treatment lagoons being in operation since October 2005, samples indicated that leachate was still entering the surface water ditch and that leachate was present on the landfill surface.

Brian Roxburgh, local SEPA team leader said:
"The collection and treatment of liquid from landfill sites (leachate) is just one of the reasons that landfill is becoming an unsustainable way of waste disposal. Despite repeated discussions with Stirling Council, aimed at achieving a reduction in the leachate levels, routine sampling by SEPA identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of the limits imposed by SEPA."

He continued, "There is an environmental risk as landfill leachate can be highly polluting, so we impose strict controls on those discharging from landfills. While we recognise recent efforts made by the Council to address leachate problems, the site remains of concern to SEPA and we will continue to monitor it and take appropriate enforcement action where required."

General comment

Leachate levels at landfill sites that are situated on the flood banks of rivers, have proved to be difficult to control elsewhere in the past. This is because groundwater alongside rivers is effectively controlled by river levels which can be high, particularly in times of heavy rainfall. Leachate discharges can therefore be particularly high at certain times of the year.


	Stirling Council fined £7500 for leachate discharges from landfill (08/12/2006) "Despite repeated discussions with Stirling Council, aimed at achieving a reduction in the leachate levels, routine sampling by SEPA identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of the limits imposed by SEPA" Brian Roxburgh, SEPA Stirling Council has been fined £7500 for discharging excessive amounts of leachate from its Lower Polmaise landfill site into the River Forth. Surface waters from the Polmaise Landfill are discharged to the river at a specified location under a discharge consent. The discharge and the river are routinely sampled by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), to ensure the operator is complying with limits set. There is an environmental risk from increased levels of leachate, as it can be highly polluting. Leachate is contaminated water which results from rainfall or groundwater picking up pollutants from landfilled waste materials. Routine sampling identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of consent limits and Stirling Council was required by SEPA to reduce them. Further sampling revealed that the levels were in excess of the waste management licence conditions and SEPA held discussions with Stirling Council to try and resolve the problem. Despite pre-treatment lagoons being in operation since October 2005, samples indicated that leachate was still entering the surface water ditch and that leachate was present on the landfill surface. Brian Roxburgh, local SEPA team leader said: "The collection and treatment of liquid from landfill sites (leachate) is just one of the reasons that landfill is becoming an unsustainable way of waste disposal. Despite repeated discussions with Stirling Council, aimed at achieving a reduction in the leachate levels, routine sampling by SEPA identified ammonia levels persistently in excess of the limits imposed by SEPA." He continued, "There is an environmental risk as landfill leachate can be highly polluting, so we impose strict controls on those discharging from landfills. While we recognise recent efforts made by the Council to address leachate problems, the site remains of concern to SEPA and we will continue to monitor it and take appropriate enforcement action where required." General comment Leachate levels at landfill sites that are situated on the flood banks of rivers, have proved to be difficult to control elsewhere in the past. This is because groundwater alongside rivers is effectively controlled by river levels which can be high, particularly in times of heavy rainfall. Leachate discharges can therefore be particularly high at certain times of the year.