Hampshire company fined more than £72,000 for illegal sewage operation

Bristol magistrates’ court heard Cleansing Services Group Ltd (CSG) in Segensworth was contracted to treat sewage waste at a farm in Wiltshire – but didn’t have the correct permits to carry out the work. Upon further investigation by the Environment Agency in 2020, a skip was found with sewage debris, gloves and plastic inside.

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The landowner said they had no knowledge about this, with CSG describing it as an ‘oversight’. CSG had previously applied for a judicial review of what constituted treatment requiring a permit, and whether the removal of rag was in fact a treatment requiring one.

Stephanie Marriott, of the Environment Agency, said: ‘Cleansing Services Group operates nationwide, and as a large company that had gone to the trouble of applying for a judicial review, knew full well they were acting illegally at this farm. As a regulator, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to pursue companies that fail to meet their obligations to the environment.’

The Segensworth company was fined £72,127 and ordered to pay £9,827.15 in costs and a £180 statutory surcharge. The company pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

In a judgment on the judicial review in 2019, the Court of Appeal concluded that ‘the screening process carried out by the claimant to remove debris from the sludge is unquestionably a form of treatment,’ and that, in its view, it was not particularly burdensome to arrange for the screening of debris in sludge at an appropriately-permitted treatment facility.

A spokesman for CSG said: ‘We fully accept that a managerial oversight involving a local, single tanker operation meant we did not have the required permit at this site. We consequently pleaded guilty at the first possible opportunity and accept the fine.

‘This fine was due to the absence of a permit and furthermore the judge confirmed category four harm – the lowest possible level .The severity of the fine was principally due to CSG being considered a large business with a high turnover.

‘In handing down the sentence, the judge acknowledged that we had not sought to seek financial gain by not having a permit.

‘The judge also acknowledged CSG’s exemplary record and that, despite nearly 90 years in the sewage business, we have never before been fined for our sewage practices. The judge also complimented CSG on our accreditations, customer training and awareness programmes and our £2m investment in enhanced treated biosolid plants.

‘We are fully committed to operating to the very highest standards and within all regulations and will continue to do so right across the country.’