HC Deb 21 January 1997 vol 288 cc523-4W
Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent communications his Department has had with the Environment Agency in respect of the implementation of plans to clean up contaminated waters from abandoned mines. [12097]

Mr. Robert B. Jones

My officials are in regular contact with the Environment Agency regarding proposals for remedial work and the remediation of sites where minewater pollution has a serious impact on the aquatic environment.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require the Environment Agency to update the report prepared by the National Rivers Authority in 1993 on the pollution of water in abandoned mines. [12066]

Mr. Jones

There is no specific requirement for the Environment Agency to update its report. However, the agency is constantly collecting new information on water pollution from abandoned mines, and it may wish to issue reports or other communications from time to time.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what meetings(a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have held with the Coal Authority since 31 October 1994 in regard to pollution and decontamination of abandoned coal mines. [12067]

Mr. Jones

Ministers in my Department have held no meetings with the Coal Authority since it was set up. Officials have held a small number of meetings to discuss issues related to water pollution from abandoned coal mines, and they continue to maintain regular contact with the authority. The Environment Agency works closely with the Coal Authority and has held seven meetings in the period. These have dealt with the production and review of a memorandum of understanding between the two organisations and, more recently, joint work to identify sites affected by discharges form abandoned coal mines where remediation is necessary and feasible.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what visits(a) he and (b) officials of his Department have made to assess the levels of pollution in abandoned mine workings during his term as Secretary of State. [12068]

Mr. Jones

The assessment of water pollution in abandoned mines is a responsibility of the Environment Agency, which maintains an extensive monitoring programme for that purpose. Officials of the Department of the Environment have made a small number of informative visits to sites affected by minewater pollution, and maintain regular contact with the Environment Agency on this issue.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department collates on(a) the levels of contamination and (b) the methods adopted to clean up polluted water from abandoned mines (i) previously in private ownership and (ii) currently in private ownership. [12069]

Mr. Jones

The Environment Agency is responsible for the collection and collation of information regarding water pollution from abandoned mines and it collects all relevant data on water chemistry and stream biology. Discharges from abandoned mines are highly site specific but, in general, the parameters recorded are pH, dissolved oxygen, total and dissolved iron, other metals, salinity, flow and biological diversity. Where minewater pollution is being treated, the methods vary according to the nature of the discharge and of the site itself. The current or former ownership of the abandoned mine is not relevant to the approach adopted.