Slurry spill 24 June 2020 (FOI)

Request 

Slurry spill 24 June 2020 as reported in the Jersey media - was there a breach of the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000, and if so has anyone been / or is being prosecuted? 

Response 

There is an ongoing investigation in relation to the 'Slurry spill 24 June 2020 as reported in the Jersey media', and any further information is therefore exempt under Article 42 of the Freedom on Information (Jersey) Law 2011. 

Article applied 

Article 42 - Law enforcement 

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a)     the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

(b)     the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, whether in respect of offences committed in Jersey or elsewhere;

(c)     the administration of justice, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

Public interest test 

Article 42 is a qualified exemption, which means that consideration must be given to both the reasons for releasing the information balanced against the reasons for withholding it. 

Reasons for releasing the information 

• disclosure of the information would support transparency, promote accountability to the general public and provide confirmation that necessary actions are taking place. 

Reasons for withholding the information 

• the investigation is still ongoing and as such, it is considered that the disclosure of information at this stage would likely prejudice the outcome and the result of the case.

Therefore, on balance, it is considered that as disclosure of information would likely prejudice the outcome of the case, withholding the information outweighs the public interest in favour of disclosure at this time.