HC Deb 14 November 1990 vol 180 cc568-9
8. Mr. Kennedy

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to revise the criteria by which to gauge the appropriate standards required for discharges to coastal waters; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Trippier

On 5 March, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that in future all significant discharges of sewage to coastal waters would receive at least primary treatment. It is now for the relevant regulatory bodies to apply this policy to individual discharges.

Mr. Kennedy

Further to that announcement, the Minister may be aware that there has been a controversial proposal for a main drainage treatment works at Inverness. Following the environmental assessment, the original proposals have been shelved, as they would clearly have been in breach of the guidelines, and the costs involved to bring a treatment works up to a suitable standard will probably be more than twice those originally envisaged—well in excess of £10 million. Will the Minister and his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State therefore lend a sympathetic ear to local authorities such as Highland region, which will have to incur such huge costs for future generations, and will he encourage the Scottish Office to do likewise?

Mr. Trippier

Experience has taught me that planning applications for sewage treatment works are invariably controversial, as are those for landfill or incineration sites. I shall, of course, bring the hon. Gentleman's remarks to the attention of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Mr. Paice

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the principal causes of pollution in coastal waters are rivers into which waste is discharged? Will he ensure that there are adequate controls not just in this country but throughout Europe and that they are especially applied to countries that border the Rhine, which contributes more to pollution in the North sea than any river in this country?

Mr. Trippier

In so far as my hon. Friend's question referred to the United Kingdom, I accept entirely that he is right. As a result of measures introduced in the Water Act 1989, regulations are tougher than they have ever been. Secondly, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 will ensure a far tougher regime, especially part I of the Act which will tighten standards for those who pollute air, land or water. That will be effective. It may also please my hon. Friend to know that several proposals that will emanate from Europe will be based on our experience and the legislation in the Environmental Protection Act. Not only is our example replicated throughout Europe, but the same standards will apply in what might be described as a level playing field.

Mr. Campbell-Savours

Will the Minister confirm that the level of nuclear discharges from Sellafield today is one hundredth of what it was in the 1970s?

Mr. Trippier

I am not in a position to confirm or to deny that figure, but so that we do not fall into the trap of scaremongering—I know that it would never cross the hon. Gentleman's mind to indulge in that—I can tell the hon. Gentleman that any accident which may occur, or any releases into the atmosphere from Sellafield., are minuscule compared with the nuclear releases from natural sources such as rocks. We ought to get this whole thing in proportion.