High Court Upholds SEPA's Air Pollution Control
Condition in Seed Crushers (Scotland) Ltd
Authorisation
Issued on 10 March 1998 - Ref 11/98
Seed Crushers (Scotland) Ltd (SCS) in Arbroath have been charged by the Crown with three breaches of the condition in their Air Pollution Control Authorisation issued under Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which requires that ‘all emissions to air from the process shall be free from offensive odour as perceived by an authorised officer of the Agency, outside the process boundary.’
SCS lodged pleas to the competency and relevancy of these charges arguing that, for various reasons, the condition in question was invalid, and so even if they acted in breach of it they would not be guilty of an offence.
The Sheriff in Arbroath accepted the arguments of SCS and found that the condition was invalid.
The Crown appealed the decision of the Sheriff to the High Court of Justiciary, and, after hearing arguments from the Advocate Depute, for the Crown, and Sir Crispin Agnew QC, for SCS, the High Court advised that it was satisfied that the condition is a valid one, thus allowing the appeal and remitting the case to the Sheriff for trial.
The trial is due to take place on 8th April 1998.
‘This decision is important not only in this particular case but also in relation to the other APC Authorisations which contain such a condition,’ said Willie Halcrow, Director SEPA East,’ That is, Authorisations which relate to sites where the nature of the industrial process is that offensive odour outside the site boundary might be a problem. This is an important clarification of one of the many complicated areas of the law involving Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.’
ENDS
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