§ Mr. MuddTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action his Department is taking to terminate the flow of contaminated water from the480W abandoned Wheal Jane mine, Cornwall; if he will send a Minister to the area without delay; if he will receive a deputation from Cornwall county council; and if he will make a statement as to how the incident was enabled to arise.
§ Mr. BaldryI met representatives from Carrick district council on 21 January, and I visited Cornwall on 23 January to see the work which is currently being carried out to treat the discharge from Wheal Jane. I was impressed by the effort which the National Rivers Authority has put into monitoring since the middle of last year, into remedial treatment in recent months, and into the development of medium and long-term arrangements for treating the discharge. Efforts to prevent the discharge of untreated water failed as a result of an unexpected collapse in the area of the Nangiles adit. I met Councillor David Roberts, chairman of Cornwall county council, on 23 January.