A MAN has been hit with more than £10,000 in fines and costs after tonnes of building rubble and building waste was dumped illegally in a field he owns.
Some of the waste had been buried or burned in contravention of an Environment Agency exemption certificate.
In 2010, McMaster engaged a building contractor to demolish a house in Fairview Road and instructed that the waste arising was to be transported to a field McMaster owned in Totnes, Torbay magistrates were told.
A considerable proportion of the waste was to be treated at the field by way of burning or burial.
In November 2010, local residents alerted South Hams Council to dense smoke coming from the site.
When an enforcement officer attended the field he found a large fire burning which included carpets, roof insulation and plastics.
A spiral-shaped shallow track had been dug around the field which was being filled with untreated demolition rubble, including a large amount of plasterboard.
There was an exemption permit in force issued by the Environment Agency allowing the construction of a track across the field but only with appropriately-treated materials.
The activities witnessed by the officer far exceeded that which was allowed under the permit and the court decided McMaster had failed in his duty to ensure that no harm was done to the environment.
It was clear from the evidence that harm had occurred and at all times either with the knowledge of McMaster, or on his instructions.
The burning of toxic waste was particularly hazardous as would have been the burial of the plasterboard had it not been prevented by the timely intervention of the enforcement officer.
For unlawfully treating, or allowing others to unlawfully treat the building waste, contrary to Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, McMaster was fined £6,000. He was also fined £2,500 for failing his duty of care in the disposal of building waste, contrary to Section 34 of the same Act, in that he instructed the contractor to deposit the waste on the field.
McMaster was also ordered to pay the council's costs of £1,500 and a £15 victim surcharge, a total of £10,015. The contractor involved had previously been fined £5,000 for his involvement in the offences.
Speaking after the hearing, Cllr Rufus Gilbert, South Hams Council's environment spokesman, said: 'There is a clear responsibility on any landowner to ensure that no unlawful operations are carried out on their land. It was clear that in this instance the landowner fell well short of fulfilling his legal obligations despite securing an online exemption certificate from the Environment Agency.
'The burning of the waste caused toxic smoke to affect neighbouring properties and the environment at large and the burial of the plasterboard, had it not been identified and halted, could have led to contamination of the land for a considerable period of time as well as leaching into local water courses.
'It remains the policy of this council to ensure that wherever possible, even on private land, those committing unlawful acts such as these are brought to account.'
Anyone with information about suspected unlawful waste activities impacting on the South Hams can contact the council's enforcement team in confidence on a 24 hour hotline on 01803 861262, or the council's customer services team on 01803 861234 or email [email protected]">[email protected].