£10k marina pollution fine less than half of investigation cost

Monday 16 December 2019

A probe into marina contamination by the French construction firm behind the Horizon development cost more than £28,000 – nearly triple the fine eventually paid by the company for breaking the Water Pollution Law, it has emerged.

The Legendre Group, which is working on delivering 280 apartments at the Waterfront in partnership with the States of Jersey Development Company, admitted causing the pollution, when representatives appeared in the Magistrate’s Court last month.

The Court heard that the firm drilled into a sea wall, leading to an “egress of sea water” – a sight that sparked concern among nearby residents and local environmental campaigners and led to discussion in the States Assembly. 

The Minister says the incident is being treated extremely seriously by officers. He reminds the #StatesAssembly that protocol for investigations of alleged criminality must be followed, therefore he regrets he can't give results of the tests #StatesAssembly

— States Assembly (@StatesAssembly) March 26, 2019

Magistrate Bridget Shaw accepted that no marine life was harmed as a result, and noted that work was stopped immediately when the company became aware of the risk, but nonetheless condemned the procedural failing in strong terms, fining the company at the highest level she could: £10,000.

A response to a Freedom of Information request has now revealed that sum to be less than half the cost of the investigation (£28,289.95), however. 

£435 was spent on a marine survey, £2,450.19 on water and sediment analysis, and £25,404.76 on staff costs.

Providing further details, government officials explained that the costs included site visits to both the Horizon site and the Elizabeth marina, collecting and processing samples for analysis, reviewing documentation, preparing and conducting interviews, obtaining witness statements, reviewing CCTV and prosecution file preparation.

Pictured: The new apartments are being built near the Radisson Blu hotel at the Waterfront.

Speaking at the conclusion of the court case, an Environmental Protection spokesperson said the saga reinforced “the need for contractors to actively reassess and react to changes in environmental risk on construction sites where site conditions and environmental factors are changing as development progresses”.

They explained: “Whilst in this instance the investigation established the pollution did not result in significant environmental impact, visual impact from the pollution on the Marina was evident on a number of occasions. 

"Legendre Contractors Limited had instigated various construction and environmental measures to try to manage the risk of pollution, however, site conditions proved more complex than Legendre expected resulting in these pollution events.  Upon identifying the pathway of the pollution, remedial works were actioned promptly, despite difficult site and environmental conditions."