Anglian Water fined £50,000 for not handing over data, in first conviction of its kind
A water company has been ordered to pay £50,000 after being found guilty of not providing data to the Environment Agency, in the first conviction of its kind.
Anglian Water Services Ltd was found guilty in May, of failing to comply with a requirement to provide records to the Environment Agency (EA) following a trial at Peterborough Magistrates' Court.
The EA said the case came from a wider investigation into all 10 English water companies looking into possible breaches of their environmental permit conditions.
The agency said it was the first conviction of its kind against a water company and set a "precedent" for the regulation of non-compliant companies.
At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, the water company was ordered to pay a £25,000 fine, £190 victim surcharge and £25,000 in costs.
Anglian Water said it was "disappointed" but insisted the "low level of sentence [reflects that] this was not a significant failure".
Anglian Water had entered a not guilty plea to the charge, claiming that it had a reasonable excuse for non-compliance - but a district judge rejected the water company’s claim.
Following the case, Anglian Water said it had been found not guilty of two more serious charges of failing to provide data.
The company said: "In sentencing on the remaining charge, the judge has awarded a £25,000 fine that is proportionate and takes into account our arguments in this case.
"Anglian Water has always maintained, and the judge concurred, that our course of action and time taken to respond with data to the Environment Agency was reasonable. This was reflected in the fact that we were found not guilty of the two main charges.
"While we are disappointed with the finding in relation to the first charge, the low level of sentence reflects our view that this was not a significant failure on our part."
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