Brits plead not guilty in Mildenhall fuel spill

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Brits plead not guilty in Mildenhall fuel spill
By Sean Kimmons, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, January 15, 2008

MILDENHALL, England — Two British contractors pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing Monday to causing a major fuel spill last April at RAF Mildenhall.

Roughly 44,000 gallons of jet fuel seeped into the ground on April 20. Only about 7,200 gallons have been recovered as part of a clean-up process that could take decades to complete, according to Anne-Lise McDonald, prosecuting on behalf of the British Environment Agency.

The hearing was held at the Mildenhall Magistrates’ Court. The agency filed charges against contractor Roy Clarke and the company T. Clarke (Midlands) Ltd. for polluting controlled water after an underground jet fuel line was ruptured while the company was drilling a 60-meter hole near a taxiway.

Roy Clarke works for the drilling company Underground Solutions based in Diss, Norfolk.

“Risks were known but proper care was not taken,” McDonald told the court. “This is a very serious impact on the environment.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51638