A farmer from Co. Antrim has been convicted at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court for a water pollution offence.

John Stewart of Boyland Road, Ballymoney pleaded guilty to the offence under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Stewart was fined £3,000, in addition to a £15 Offenders Levy and he also agreed to repay fish kill remediation costs of £1,929.80. 

The court heard that on February 3, 2025, inspectors from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of a significant slurry pollution incident affecting the Greenshields River, a tributary of the Ballymoney River, Co. Antrim.

During the investigation, inspectors established that slurry had escaped from an above-ground slurry storage tank after a valve failed.

The slurry flowed through a cattle shed, across the farmyard and adjacent fields, before discharging to the Greenshields River at a number of locations.

John Stewart and his family took action to stop further release of slurry and limit its impact.

Despite the actions taken, the pollution was confirmed to have travelled approximately 9km downstream from its source, impacting both the Greenshields River and the Ballymoney River.

Inspectors observed significant pollution within the impacted waterways and confirmed that the incident resulted in a fish kill.

As part of the investigation, NIEA inspectors collected a statutory sample for analysis. The results confirmed the presence of "poisonous, noxious or polluting matter, which had the potential to cause harm to aquatic life in the receiving watercourses".