Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd has been fined £115,000 after pleading guilty to pollution offences and breaches of its environmental permit at Strabane Magistrates Court.

The firm, based on Berryhill Road in Artigarvan, was ordered to pay £70,000 for seven permit breaches and £45,000 for nine offences involving the discharge of polluting material into the Glenmornan River. The company merged with Lakeland Dairies in 2019.

Northern Ireland Environment Agency officers documented breaches between February and September 2025. From February 17 to April 18, they observed a damaged pipe that sent contaminated discharge into surface water drainage and a significant milk spillage that reached the river.

Further inspections from May 30 to July 4 found persistent breaches of permitted discharge limits to the Glenmornan River. The agency said the company failed to take adequate measures to protect the river, maintain equipment and management systems, take prompt remedial action, or suspend operations while environmental harm continued.

The company also failed to take immediate steps to limit environmental consequences and breached notification requirements.

NIEA recorded pollution of the Glenmornan River on four occasions between June 11 and July 4, and again on July 31 and September 8. Officers observed milk entering the river from a severely degraded effluent line, allowing untreated milk to enter surrounding ground. Between July 31 and September 8, the operator discharged a substance toxic to aquatic organisms and failed to use best available techniques to prevent fugitive emissions.

Lakeland Dairies said the matters before the court arose from unintended operational circumstances. It said it has since made substantial investment at the Artigarvan site, including upgrades to wastewater treatment infrastructure, enhanced monitoring systems and operational improvements, and remains committed to environmental compliance.