Environmental protection inspectors have completed the inspection of the sewage treatment plant at the Laktopol B dairy in Bielsk Podlaski. Untreated sewage was discharged into the river. The Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection issued warnings and fines to the guilty parties.
The sewage treatment plant at the dairy in Bielsk Podlaski was used, although its modernization was never formally completed. As a result, the facility was exploited beyond its capacity and not fully treated sewage was discharged into the river – reports Bielsk.eu, citing information sent by the Podlasie Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection.
Responses to journalists’ inquiries show that in April, WIOŚ completed the inspection at the Laktopol plant in Bielsko, which had been ongoing since December 2023. It was an emergency inspection following complaints from residents. It revealed “a number of irregularities in the operation of the plant’s sewage treatment plant,” we read in the WIOŚ letter.
The sewage treatment plant was not working
Inspectors found that “insufficiently treated” sewage was discharged from the treatment plant into the river, sewage was diluted with water, and equipment and building facilities were used contrary to the integrated permit. The Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection also informs that criminal sanctions have been imposed on those responsible for this state of affairs, in the form of warnings and a fine of PLN 1,000.
The head of the department for combating environmental crime at the Białystok Regional Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, Janusz Górka, told the local portal that the sewage treatment plant had been working for a long time beyond its capabilities and parameters specified for the facility in the design documentation. It also did not meet the requirements specified in the decision of the Mayor of Bielsk Podlaski from 2010. on the environmental conditions of the project involving the modernization and expansion of the Company’s Sewage Treatment Plant at the Bielmlek Dairy Cooperative (previous name of the dairy).
The mentioned modernization of the sewage treatment plant was never formally completed and the facility operated without an occupancy permit. According to WIOŚ, Laktopol B, as the legal successor of Bielmlek, was obliged to regulate these matters. Therefore, administrative proceedings were initiated against Laktopol. For identified infringements, the company may be subject to a fine of PLN 5,000. PLN up to PLN 1 million. zloty.
The permit is in question
The local portal reminds that the sewage problem became apparent only after the Bielmlek dairy was taken over by Laktopol. WIOŚ informs that the inspection findings will be sent to the District Office in Bielsk Podlaski and the District Construction Inspector. This means that the dairy is under threat of withholding the permit to discharge sewage from the treatment plant into the river or limiting these possibilities. In this situation, the plant would have to stop or significantly reduce production.
Residents also complained to the Voivodeship Inspectorate of Environmental Protection about white dust around the dairy. The inspection findings show that this is the result of filter replacement carried out in the powder plant. The plant assured that these emissions should not occur during normal operation.
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