A GWENT man failed to put anti-pollution measures in place at the garage he was running in Tredegar.
Environmental officers from Natural Resources Wales found vehicles "in various states of disrepair" and "oily wastes" when they first inspected Mervyn Lewis' garage last summer.
Earlier, they had received a tip-off from Blaenau Gwent council that vehicles were being stripped and recycled at Lewis' business at Park Hill Garage.
They also found Lewis had been operating the automotive business "without the relevant environmental permits or waste exemptions".
During the site visit, they found some vehicles which "were considered to be scrap metal and required removal from the site".
Oil canisters and rags were "also scattered throughout the ground, and officers found no pollution control measures were in place, despite the site being in close proximity to a water course", Natural Resources Wales said.
Lewis was served with an enforcement notice to remove four vehicles and other items, but he "failed to fully comply".
This landed him in court last month, where he admitted "depositing and treating waste without the necessary environmental permits".
For this, he was fined £800 and ordered to pay investigation costs of more than £2,500.
In total, his offending left him £3,404 out of pocket.
Speaking away from the court, and after the case was concluded, Natural Resources Wales senior enforcement officer Susana Fernandez said: “Environmental permits are in place so we can ensure businesses are operating safely and complying with environmental regulations, so they don’t pollute the environment or cause harm to people or wildlife.
“It is an offence to collect, carry, store or break vehicles without an environmental permit.
“If we find evidence that a business is operating without the necessary permits which protects the local environment and surrounding communities, we will not hesitate to investigate and take the appropriate enforcement action.”
Anybody who suspects illegal waste activity in their area should report it by calling Natural Resources Wales' incident hotline on 0300 065 3000.
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