§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the deadline by which large combustion plants should have been granted their licence from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and how many plants had been licensed by that date;
(2) how many power stations owned by PowerGen and National Power have received the required licence from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will list all large combustion plants covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 indicating the 230W owners; and whether they have been granted the licence, required under the Act from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
§ Mr. BaldryApplications for authorisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 were received for 203 combustion processes of which 150 are large combustion plants; a list of these plants has been placed in the Library of the House. These should be determined within four months of receipt, or within such longer period as may be agreed with the applicant. But, in cases where commercial confidentiality has been claimed in respect of information contained in an application, this period of four months does not begin until that matter has been resolved, at which time public advertisement and consultation can take place.
On receipt of the applications, HMIP found that additional information was required from all applicants, including PowerGen and National Power, to enable the determination of their authorisation to proceed. In seeking such information, in accordance with schedule 1 of the 1990 Act, the four-month deadline for determining applications was extended, by varying periods. Nineteen authorisations for large combustion plant had been granted by 4 February 1992. PowerGen and National Power originally requested information in 34 of their applications (14 PowerGen and 20 National Power) to be considered as commercially confidential. HMIP refused these requests and the applicants appealed to the Secretary of State against the decision. Appeals (by National Power) in two cases were withdrawn at the end of 1991 and determination of those applications is now proceeding. Thirty-two cases remain subject to appeal.
Until the applications are determined, all existing plants remain subject to control by HMIP under existing air pollution legislation.