Muir of Ord Glen Ord Singleton distillery ‘potential pollution incident’ probe concluded
A PROBE into a “potential pollution incident” at a major Ross-shire distillery and visitor attraction has been concluded.
An environmental watchdog was alerted by a member of the public last month who voiced concerns about the possible impact of the incident at Glen Ord Distillery in Muir of Ord on nearby Logie Burn.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said: “SEPA was notified by a member of the public of a potential pollution incident at the Logie Burn near the Singleton distillery, Muir of Ord, on September 20.
“The site operator’s investigation has concluded. Dye tracing found a leak from a manhole chamber on the effluent line from the distillery’s still house to its effluent tank.
“Liquid escaping from the chamber would have been able to percolate through the ground to a nearby surface water drainage channel and find its way into the drainage channel. The leak was stopped on September 20.
“Mitigation measures were deployed to prevent the effluent reaching the Logie Burn and these have now been removed.
“The operator has carried out repairs. Tests have been carried out to ensure these have been effective and that there are no other leak paths.
“SEPA carried out invertebrate sampling on the Logie Burn downstream of the drainage channel on 20 September.
“No issues were found and there does not appear to be any environmental impacts as a result of the spill.”
SEPA’s role is to make sure that the environment and human health are protected and to ensure that Scotland’s natural resources and services are used as sustainably as possible and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
The distillery has established itself as an award-winning attraction and welcomes in excess of 60,000 visitors a year.
Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery has long been one of the area’s top tourist attractions.
The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery was named Scotland’s Leading Distillery Tour 2024 at the World Travel Awards (WTA).
Diageo, the operator of the distillery, was contacted for comment last week but has not responded.
