The Safed Magistrates Court has imposed a NIS 200,000 fine on the Merom Galil Local Authority for allowing sewage to enter the Hazon River almost a decade ago. The sewage flowed into the Zalmon River and thence to the Jordan River, contaminating water sources along the way.
Merom Galil Local Authority head Aharon Meutak and Yaakov Dahan, who was responsible for sewer maintenance at the time, were each sentenced to 150 hours community service, without a conviction. The court said the light sentences were imposed because the accused men worked hard to limit the damage and fix it.
The Ministry of the Environment said the long time between the original act and the verdict was due to the lengthy enforcement procedures, which take at least a year, including identification, warning, attempts at finding a solution, investigation, filing a request with the Attorney General to sue the head of the local authority, followed by an indictment. Legal proceedings then take more time.
The indictment says that, in 1998-99, Meutak and Dahan were responsible for the operation of the sewage system and containment pools at Moshav Hazon, within the local authority’s jurisdiction. Their duties included ensuring that the containment pools were sealed and the waste was sent to a treatment facility. Their failure to do so resulted in the containment pools leaking, spilling sewage and contaminating the environment.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 16, 2007
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