§ Mr. David HowellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now issue new guidance to county councils in relation to the tipping and storage of waste into exhausted gravel pits and quarries.
§ Mr. TrippierThere is already extensive guidance. Guidance on using controlled wastes as landfill materials546W in the reclamation of surface mineral workings in general is contained in Minerals Planning Guidance Note 7, "The Reclamation of Mineral Workings" published in September 1989. Detailed advice on aspects of waste disposal is also given in my Department's series of waste management papers. No. 26 in this series, "Landfilling Wastes—a Technical Memorandum" was published in 1986; No. 4, "The Licensing of Waste Disposal Sites", which offers advice to local authorities responsible for waste disposal licensing, was revised in 1988.
My Department will continue to update guidance to take account of technical developments, the results of research and legislative changes. Work has begun on the revision of waste management paper No. 4 to reflect the changes to be introduced under part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Under the Act, authorities will be obliged to have regard to guidance from the Secretary of State in exercising their licensing functions.