'We have no doubt our river will run dry again in 2024' - Crumlin anglers

THE NI Environment Agency may be in breach of the law over the abstraction of water from Crumlin River dating back to 2007, it has been reported.

The Belfast Telegraph said that the Office for Environmental Protection wrote to NIEA in January with the findings of an investigation following a complaint.

The complaint alleged NIEA had failed to regulate the removal of water from the Crumlin River in accordance with legislation licensing such actions.

The legislation governs permits for the abstraction of water, or the impoundment of water (a structure within inland waters that can change the level or flow, such as those at fish farms).

OEP said: “There is an indication that the NIEA may have failed to comply with environmental law and, based on the evidence available, we consider this failure is potentially serious.”

It added it would be monitoring the situation after enquiries revealed “inconsistencies” in the way the law was applied in relation to 87 applications submitted over 16 years.

OEP requested a number of action plans from NIEA, including details on how it planned to “determine” these applications, which remain outstanding

NIEA responded by saying: “It is regrettable that 87 applications remain undetermined for existing activities some 16 years after the legislation came in to force and... agree that planned action is needed.”

Its letter details a proposal to deal with the backlog, including the “development of a prioritised risk-based approach to determine the outstanding applications within a timely manner”.

NIEA said: “A preliminary action plan to address the issue has been shared with the OEP and is available to publicly view [online].

“Under Section 11 of the Fisheries Act (NI) 1966... the department may licence... authorised individuals to operate a fish farm at a place specified in the licence.

“There has been no impact on implementation of this function from any lack of an abstraction and impoundment licence.

“DAERA Inland Fisheries staff also continue to enforce the sections of legislation in the 1966 Fisheries Act that relate to water abstraction sites.”

It comes after the Rivers Trust last month revealed not a single stretch of river here is in “good” overall health.

Its report found that local waterways contain sewage, nutrient, chemical and plastic pollution, and that the most common causes of pollution are agriculture - which impacted 263 rivers - urban wastewater, industry and land management.

A spokespersomn for Crumlin and District Angling Association said: “Our river in the news again for the wrong reasons. We have been campaigning on this issue for years now with the river running dry year after year.

“It is an issue which we have made Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs very much aware off, however due to lack of movement we have no doubt our river will run dry once again in 2024.”