LOCAL anglers have voiced their support for a Green Party campaign for an independent environmental protection agency for Northern Ireland and said that without their efforts, most of Northern Ireland's rivers would be open sewers.
The Green Party has called for river bailiffs across Northern Ireland to be allowed to take samples from rivers during suspected pollution incidents, as they claim resources appear to be preventing the Environment & Heritage Service from being able t
o investigate all incidents.
The Green Party met with representatives from anglers groups at Stormont last week, who are concerned about pollution levels in local rivers and the lack of severe penalties for those found responsible for pollution.
Among the delegation was Alan Kirkpatrick, River Manager of the Sixmilewater River in Antrim.
The meeting has been prompted in response to information recently received by the Green Party that the Sixmilewater River has been polluted almost 300 times in the past five years.
Green Party South Antrim spokesperson Peter Whitcroft said: “The number of pollution incidents and the perpetual pollution records of many Northern Ireland companies suggest more needs to be done by the Department of the Environment. I want to meet and listen to as many interested parties.”
Mr Whitcroft added: “If the word of bailiffs is good enough to be used to bring a prosecution then they should be trusted to take samples from rivers too.”
The full article contains 236 words and appears in Antrim Times newspaper.
