§ Mr. Carol Johnsonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many meetings have taken place between his Department's officials and representatives of the North Devon Water Board since the Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the North Devon (Meldon Reservoir) Water Order, 1966; what steps have been taken to secure a lair comparison between the Meldon and Gorhuish schemes in accordance with the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee; and when he expects to announce his decision on the Order.
§ Mr. GreenwoodThe Joint Committee amended the Order with the purpose of allowing the authorities to investigate the two schemes and, with the agreement of the North Devon Water Board and the Devon River Authority, I invited Mr. B. C. Wood, a Deputy Chief Engineer of the Department, to co-ordinate the investigation and to report on the results. His report will be published with my decision on the Order, which I hope to announce shortly.
In the course of the investigation, Mr. Wood had seven meetings with the Board's engineer, or with their consult-mg engineers, or with both. The Department have had no other meetings with representatives of the Board about Meldon or Gorhuish, apart from the initial meeting to arrange the investigation.
§ Mr. Carol Johnsonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has received a report from the Devon River Authority on their soil tests at Meldon in connection with the North Devon (Meldon Reservoir) Water Order, 1966; what information this contains on the amount of arsenic in the soil and the old mine workings in the Meldon Valley; what proposals have been submitted to him to deal with this; and what expense this will involve.
§ Mr. GreenwoodI have received a copy of a report by the Fisheries and362W Pollution Officer of the Devon River Authority on arsenic and other toxic metals in the Meldon Valley. It records the results of analyses of samples of soil taken at 15 points in the valley, including spoil heaps at the old workings. The arsenic content ranged from less than 25 parts per million to 2,000 parts per million, being highest at the spoil heaps.
As regards the third and fourth parts of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to my Answer on 21st October to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for the High Peak (Mr. Peter M. Jackson).—[Vol. 770, c. 229.]