The Green Party has questioned the Department of the Environment’s view that the levels of pollution which are being legally allowed into the Sixmilewater River is not damaging the aquatic environment, and has called for an immediate review of discharge consents on all Northern Ireland rivers.

Green Party Assembly Member Brian Wilson said: “Discharge consents must be reviewed immediately. River water eventually finds its way into our drinking water so it should be of paramount concern to us all.  In light of the river’s pollution history, for the DOE to refuse to review the discharge consents operating along the waterway is unsatisfactory.  When the fines start coming in from Europe it will be the tax payer who has to foot the bill.”

The Green Party has uncovered figures which reveal that some companies have been legally using the Sixmilewater as a dump since 1977.

Assembly Member Wilson said: “The Sixmilewater has been polluted over 300 times in the past five years, thousands of fish were killed in one of the most sever pollution incidents on the river back in April, the Environment Agency has conceded that it cannot find the culprit.  Companies ranging from quarries to cement producers, to coal yards to scrap yards are legally using the river as a dump, some for over 30 years. These are the facts and for the DOE to deny that the discharge consents are not damaging the aquatic environment, without a major review, is to simply dig its head into the sand.”