The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now joined the investigation into a pollution incident in which over 1,000 fish were killed in east Donegal.
A two kilometre stretch of an important River Finn tributary was contaminated following an ‘accidental release’ from the Aurivo milk plant (main pic) at Crossroads, Killygordon, on Tuesday.
“The EPA received notification from Aurivo Consumer Foods Ltd on the afternoon of Tuesday September 12th of an accidental release from the EPA Licensed facility to the Cross Roads Stream. This stream flows in a northerly direction where it joins the River Finn near Killygordon,” a spokesperson for the agency told Donegal Daily.
“EPA staff from the Office of Environmental Enforcement attended the site on Wednesday to investigate this incident and to identify what corrective actions need to be taken at the facility. The site inspection report, once completed, will be available on the EPA website.”
The spokesperson said it has also liaised with Donegal County Council and The Loughs Agency to assess the impact of the incident on the receiving environment.
Samples have been taken for further analysis at the EPA laboratories.
“EPA staff from the Office of Environmental Enforcement continue to investigate the cause of the incident.”
Donegal Daily understands that over 1,000 trout, eels and baby salmon have been lost.
Young salmon had only recently returned to the stream, known locally as the ‘Creamery Burn’ , for the first time in 20 years, following decades of pollution. The last major contamination incident there was in October, 2013.
The Finn is considered to be one of the best wild salmon fishing rivers in Europe. However, it is not yet known if it has been affected by the latest incident.
A Loughs Agency spokesperson urged anyone who discovers a dead fish in the area to leave it and contact them directly on 0044 28 71 342100 to arrange collection with a Fishery Officer.
Tags:
