A FARMER from Tongland has been served with a £600 civil penalty for illegally altering the River Dee.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) took the action against the firm of W R Wilson and Sons at Mayfield Farm following an investigation by officers.
It was found that they had carried out unauthorised engineering works on the bank of the River Dee.
SEPA became aware of the issues following concerns raised by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division who had visited the site on the bank of the River Dee in April 2023.
And the agency’s investigation determined that the riverbank reprofiling work had been instructed by Mr R Wilson and carried out between 1 March 2023 and 30 June 2023, without their authorisation.
Outlining their concerns, Kirsty McHarg, SEPA’s unit manager for Southwest Scotland, yesterday said: “River engineering can disrupt nature’s delicate balance, destroying aquatic habitats and causing or exacerbating erosion and flood risk.
“This civil penalty should act as warning to others that we will take action if you ignore Scotland’s environmental regulations. If you are considering any works near a watercourse you should get in touch with SEPA before you start. We can provide guidance to ensure that any activity is authorised, regulated and are not harmful to our environment. If you do the wrong thing, whether deliberately or through a lack of care, we will take appropriate enforcement action.”
The Wilsons received a Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) for their actions and Kirsty added: “SEPA are satisfied that W R Wilson and Sons carried on a controlled activity, namely building or engineering works in inland water, without an authorisation between 1 April and 30 June 2023 on the River Dee at Tongland.
“It is an offence under Regulation 44(1)(a) of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (CAR) for a person to contravene Regulation 4 of CAR. Regulation 4 of CAR prohibits the carrying on, or the causing or permitting of others to carry on, a controlled activity without authorisation. Controlled activities are listed in Regulation 3(1) of CAR, one of which is (d) carrying out building or engineering works in inland water (other than groundwater).”
