§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of dumping 7.5 million tons of United States domestic waste on the banks of the River Mersey on his policy to clean up the Mersey river basin.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe waste disposal authority, Cheshire county council, which operates the disposal site in question is under a statutory duty to do so in a manner which prevents the pollution of water. An assessment of the impact of waste disposal operations on water resources would, for this proposal, be a matter for the North West water authority, which would advise the waste disposal authority accordingly.
§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of landfill sites in the United Kingdom which have been identified as requiring the retrofitting of additional gas controls; and, what would be the estimated cost of such procedures.
§ Mr. MoynihanWe are currently awaiting a report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution following the survey it has conducted with waste disposal authorities.
§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made as to whether the proposed imports of American domestic wastes into the United Kingdom and their subsequent dumping in Cornwall and Warrington conform with the recommendations of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution's 11th report, "Managing Waste: The Duty of Care".
§ Mr. MoynihanThe Royal Commission noted that the advantages of using a more appropriate disposal facility than the one available locally can justify international trade in waste, but recommended that wastes that are hazardous should not be exported without the prior informed consent of the importing country. Proposals to import domestic waste from USA on the scale reported in the press are a new development which does cause concern, and we are considering the implications.
§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report the reply of his Department to the letter dated 8 June from the chairman of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution to Lord Caithness regarding the import of wastes for dumping in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MoynihanI have arranged for copies of the correspondence to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the pressure on the availability of dumping capacity for United Kingdom waste arising consequent upon the large-scale import of United States domestic waste for landfill.
§ Mr. MoynihanAs far as I am aware, there have been no imports of domestic waste from USA. Proposals for imports on the scale reported in the press would affect the availability of landfill capacity for United Kingdom waste, and waste disposal authorities would need to consider such proposals in the light of their waste disposal plans.
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§ Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to ensure that Power Water and Waste Ltd. does not dump toxic chemical waste from the United States of America at Arpley Meadows, Warrington; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoynihanIt is for the waste disposal authority, Cheshire county council, to consider the proposals by Power, Water and Waste Ltd, in the light of its waste disposal plan and the conditions it has imposed on the operation of the Arpley Meadows site. The council has asked to meet me and I shall discuss the matter with councillors shortly.
§ Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to issue an order prohibiting Power Water and Waste Ltd. from dumping 72 million tons of waste from the United States of America and at Arpley Meadows, Warrington; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoynihanI refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 9 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler), at column655.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he proposes to take to prevent waste brokers and waste transfer stations obstructing the flow of information between waste producer, waste disposer and regulatory authority;
(2) what steps he proposes to take to overcome the problem identified by senior officials of the hazardous waste inspectorate at a press briefing at his Department on 22 June concerning the information regarding the chemical composition and volume of waste on many consignment notes pertaining to imported special waste being cursory and inadequate.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations apply to an importer of waste in the same way as they apply to a producer of special waste in this country. They require that the producer notifies the waste disposal authority for the area where the waste is to be disposed of, of the intended movement of the waste from his premises at least three days before the movement takes place. The producer must give a description of the waste, its relevant chemical and biological components, its quantity, the size, type and number of containers and the process from which the waste originated. He must certify the accuracy of the information. Failure to comply with the regulations is an offence carrying maximum penalties of imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
Thus waste disposal authorities have the necessary powers to prevent obstruction of the flow of information about these wastes and it is for authorities to use them effectively.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions will be included in the regulations implementing the European Community's transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste directive to overcome the problem of waste disposal authorities at the port of entry of waste not being notified of the consignment of waste until after it has left for its United Kingdom destination.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe regulation to implement the Community directive will include a provision for the waste disposal authority at the port of entry to be notified of the consignment before it arrives at the port.
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§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to prevent imported materials destined for the recovery industry ending up as waste which is disposed of in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MoynihanImports of waste materials for recovery are subject to the same control and supervision by waste disposal authorities as any other waste.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he intends to take to remedy the situation identified in the conclusions of the third report of the hazardous waste inspectorate, page 83, paragraphs 5 and 6, regarding the lack of prenotification of imported non-special waste;
(2) what steps he proposes to take to resolve the problem experienced by waste disposal authorities in respect of the import of non-special waste for direct landfill as a result of the lack of prenotification.
§ Mr. MoynihanWaste disposal authorities have powers under section 93 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to obtain information reasonably considered necessary to assist them in the exercise of their statutory functions. The volume of imports of non-special wastes so far identified does not at present appear to be such as to call for further powers, but we shall continue to keep imports of wastes generally under review.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why only wastes with concentrations of the 27 proscribed chemicals listed as hazardous in the European Council's toxic and dangerous wastes directive at levels that would result in the waste being defined as special waste will be covered in United Kingdom regulations to implement the transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes directive.
§ Mr. MoynihanSubstances covered by the directive on transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes are defined by reference to the 27 substances in the toxic and dangerous waste directive. The latter, which is implemented in the United Kingdom by the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980, defines toxic and dangerous waste as any waste containing or contaminated by any of the 27 substances of such a nature, in such quantities or in such concentrations as to constitute a risk to health or the environment. It follows that implementation of the transfrontier shipment directive must be made by reference to the definition in the special waste regulations.