§ Mr. Laurance Reedasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will direct the attention of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 479W to the problem created by the fact that the entire sewage from the city of Edinburgh is discharged untreated into the Forth Estuary, and invite their recommendations for preventing the resulting over-enrichment of the marine environment.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerNo. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I, while well aware of the disadvantages to amenity caused by the lack of sewage treatment plant for Edinburgh, do not intend to refer specific local problems of this nature to the Commission.
Sewage from the City of Edinburgh is at present discharged untreated into the Forth through nine outfall sewers, but proposals for treatment works are now under consideration. The Edinburgh Corporation's Consulting Engineers are engaged in investigating the location of the outfall for the treated effluent; and research is being carried out by Edinbugh University into some aspects of the design of the sewage treatment works. A Provisional Order in connection with the project has just been published.