§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include researches into water quality in the Severn Estuary;
(2) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include researches into primary production, zooplankton and benthos in the Severn Estuary;
(3) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include research into wildfowl and waders in the Severn Estuary;
(4) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include researches into migratory fish in the Severn Estuary;
(5) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include researches into saltmarshes adjacent to the Severn Estuary;
(6) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the existing moulting ground for shelduck, Tadorna tadorna, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(7) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the contruction and operation of the barrage on the winter population of European white-fronted geese, Anser albifrons, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(8) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the population of dunlin, calidris alpina, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(9) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the population of redshank, Tringa totanus, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(10) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the population of curlew, Numenius arqueta, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(11) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the population of grey plover, Pluvialis squatrola, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
(12) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include studies of the potential impact of the construction and operation of the barrage on the population of ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula, in the Severn Estuary and its surroundings;
675W(13) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include researches into wetlands adjacent to the Severn Estuary.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer my hon. Friend to my answer on 24 November 1986, at column 42. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy informed my hon. Friend on 10 December that the work programme and proposed procedures for consultation in the Severn Estuary studies will be widely circulated for comment and copies will be placed in the Library of both Houses. I will ensure my right hon. Friend is aware of the subjects my hon. Friend mentions.
§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage should include consultations with the Environmental Department of the European Economic Community;
(2) if he will make it his policy that the Severn Estuary studies to be carried out into the proposed Severn barrage will include consultations with the parties to Ramsar.
676W
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy right hon. Friend will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the implications of the Severn barrage for nature conservation and the environment are adequately taken into consideration.
§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if his Department will commission individual and specific environmental impact assessments on the sites of national importance for nature conservation which may be adversely affected by the construction and operation of the proposed Severn barrage;
(2) what provision he is making to compensate or assist the workers and managers of the nature reserves and wildfowling preserves in or near the Severn Estuary in the event that they are adversely affected by the construction of the proposed Severn barrage.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIt is too early to say whether any site-specific environmental impact assessments will be commissioned as part of the Severn barrage studies, and it is premature to consider any question of compensation.