Ian Canning of West Binny Farm pled guilty to a charge of having caused poisonous, noxious or polluting matter, namely silage effluent, to enter the Binny Burn, contrary to the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Mr Canning was fined£200 at the Sheriff Court in Livingston on 7 June 2000. The prosecution was the result of a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).


The incident occurred in June 1999 when silage which had originated from Mr Canning's silage clamp entered the watercourse via a field drain. This lead to 3-4 km's of the Binny Burn being grossly polluted with silage fungus. The incident occurred on Friday 25th June 1999 but no remedial action was taken by Mr Canning until Monday 28th. This was a major incident on a small burn which generated complaints from the public.


Norman Donnelly, Environmental Protection Office at SEPA's East Region:
"SEPA is content with the outcome of this case. Causing pollution is an offence. Polluters will be penalised for harming the environment and breaking the law. This incident highlights to other practitioners that SEPA will use its legislative powers where necessary to protect the environment".

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was established under the Environment Act 1995.
Its main duty is to protect the environment by controlling pollution to land, air and water in Scotland.