Latest news with #EnvironmentalQuality
New Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Kulim dye factory fined RM20,000 for repeat pollution offence
KULIM: A dye processing company was fined RM20,000 by the Sessions Court here today for discharging industrial effluent above permitted limits from its factory. Sessions Court Judge Mirza Mohamad imposed the penalty after the company's director, representing the firm, pleaded guilty to the charge. Kedah Deparment of Environment (DoE) director Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab said investigations revealed that samples taken from the factory's Industrial Effluent Treatment System (IETS) discharge point exceeded legal pollution thresholds. She said the violation was detected during a DoE inspection on Sept 26, 2024 at the Kulim Industrial Area. The company was charged under Regulation 11(1)(b) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009, punishable by a maximum fine of RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both. In mitigation, the company's director appealed for a lighter sentence, citing that steps were underway to upgrade the factory's treatment system to prevent recurrence. The director also told the court that the company had suffered financial losses in 2023 and 2024. However, the DoE prosecuting officer urged the court to impose a heavier fine, noting that this was the company's second offence. It had been fined RM10,000 by the same court on Oct 24, 2023, for a similar violation. Tests showed the discharged effluents contained high organic pollution, which can severely affect water quality and aquatic life if left uncontrolled.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
State says to stay out of the water at 2 more MS Coast beaches, for a total of 6
The same bacteria that has endured for weeks at several Mississippi Coast beaches appeared in two new spots on Tuesday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said. Routine water quality testing found bacteria at Pass Christian West Beach and Edgewater Beach in Biloxi. The state issued water contact advisories for the beaches this week and encouraged swimmers to avoid the water. The bacteria is a common nuisance on shorelines across the country and not worrisome enough to close beaches. But scientists say it means there could be stormwater runoff in the water that might cause digestive problems or infections. Six beaches are testing for higher-than-normal levels of bacteria. Six of the Mississippi Coast's 21 beaches now have higher-than-normal levels of bacteria, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. Pass Christian East Beach, Long Beach, Gulfport West Beach and Gulfport Harbor Beach are still under water contact advisories issued earlier this year. It is not always clear where the bacteria, called Enterococcus, come from. But researchers say faulty septic tanks and sewers can leak through the stormwater system and drain into the Mississippi Sound. Wind can even stir up waves that unearth bacteria buried in sediment underwater. The advisories often increase in summer and are also common after rain. The state also has a standing advisory against swimming after heavy rain because runoff from drains south of the railroad tracks inevitably washes pollutants into the water. This Coast team tests for the trouble that keeps turning up on our beaches Here is the full list of advisories in 2025: April 18: The state issued an advisory for Gulfport East Beach. That advisory lifted April 23. April 17: The state issued an advisory for Pass Christian West Beach, Gulfport Harbor Beach and Gulfport Central Beach. The advisory for Gulfport Central Beach lifted April 23. The Pass Christian West Beach advisory lifted April 24. March 20: The state issued advisories for Pass Christian East Beach and Gulfport West Beach. March 13: The state issued an advisory for Bay St. Louis Beach and Pass Christian Central Beach. A day later, it issued an advisory for Biloxi East Central Beach. Mississippi lifted the advisories at Bay St. Louis Beach and Biloxi East Central Beach on March 19. The advisory for Pass Christian Central Beach lifted April 23. Feb. 13: Mississippi issued an advisory in Long Beach, Pass Christian Central Beach and Bay St. Louis Beach. The advisories in Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis lifted Feb. 26. Feb. 6: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a water contact advisory at Gulfport West Beach. The advisory lifted Feb. 12. The agency also issued an advisory at Waveland Beach, which lifted Feb. 26. Jan. 17: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued an advisory at Front Beach in Ocean Springs. The advisory ended Jan. 29.
