Co Antrim farmer fined £3,000 after slurry spill killed fish and spread nine kilometres

Friday 25 September 2026

A County Antrim farmer has been fined £3,000 after a slurry spill caused a fish kill and pollution travelled approximately nine kilometres downstream, affecting two County Antrim rivers.

John Stewart, 35, of Boyland Road, Ballymoney pleaded guilty at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court to a water pollution offence.

Alongside the fine, he was ordered to pay a £15 Offenders Levy and agreed to repay £1,929.80 in fish kill remediation costs.

Failed valve allowed slurry to escape

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

Investigators established that slurry had escaped from an above-ground storage tank after a valve failed.

It flowed through a cattle shed, across the farmyard and adjoining fields before entering the Greenshields River at several locations.

Family acted to limit pollution

Mr Stewart and his family took action to stop further slurry escaping and limit its impact. Despite those efforts, the pollution travelled approximately nine kilometres downstream from its source, affecting both the Greenshields and Ballymoney rivers.

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

Analysis of a statutory sample collected during the investigation confirmed the presence of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter with the potential to harm aquatic life.

Mr Stewart was convicted under Article 7(1)(a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, as amended, which makes it an offence to make a polluting discharge to a waterway.

Guidance on preventing water pollution

Information on the rules governing the design, location, construction and maintenance of silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil stores, and how NIEA enforces them, is available at www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/silage-slurry-and-agricultural-fuel-oil-ssafo-storage.

DAERA’s Water Quality Hub also provides information on its Better Choices, Better Water campaign at www.daera-ni.gov.uk/topics/better-choices-better-water⁠.

How to report water pollution

Anyone who wishes to report a water pollution incident can contact the 24-hour NIEA Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

Less urgent concerns can be emailed to emergency-pollution@daera-ni.gov.uk or submitted through DAERA’s Environmental Incident Reporting System at www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/daera-environmental-incident-reporting-system⁠.