THE FROZEN food firm at the centre of a River Tay pollution scare has agreed to take steps on allegedly illegal effluent, ending the threat of further legal action.

Alpine Foods was issued with an interim interdict last week for allegedly polluting the estuary with twice its legal allowance.

The matter came to a head after the company’s plant at Wester Gourdie industrial estate in Dundee caused the Hatton wastewater treatment works to grind to a halt.

But after talks with Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Catchment—which operates the sewage plant—Alpine appears to have headed off the threat of a court appearance.

A spokesman for Scottish Water confirmed that Alpine has agreed to use tankers to dispose of the waste at the heart of the problem.

The effluent causing the concern is a by-product of the pea harvest currently being processed at the factory.

On its own it is not particularly harmful.

But when pumped out at certain levels and mixed with chemicals at the sewage works, it wreaks havoc on the system and ultimately pollutes the river.

It can be used safely in various forms of farming.

Ironically, the agreement has been reached as the pea harvest nears its end.

“We are very pleased they have come together to get a solution,” said the Scottish Water spokesman.

“Alpine can now carry on with the rest of the harvest without affecting the local environment.”

However, as the Tay dispute ended, Scottish Water was fined for polluting bathing waters in the Moray Firth.

The water authority pled guilty to the offence yesterday at Inverness Sheriff Court and was fined £5000.

The case surrounded illegal discharge from its Nairn waste-water treatment works last August.

SEPA said samples revealed bacterial levels exceeded the consent conditions, resulting in inadequately treated sewage being pumped into controlled waters.