HC Deb 12 December 2002 vol 396 cc457-8W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment has been conducted by(a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency of the risk to river water quality from discharges from (i) abandoned mine workings, (ii) landfill sites, (iii) radioactive waste storage sites and (iv) animal burial mounds; and if she will make a statement. [86409]

Mr. Morley

(i) The Environment Agency and the Department hold a database of discharges from abandoned mines, with those presenting the greatest risk to the environment on an agreed "priority listing".

(ii) A full assessment of pollution risks and the preventative measures needed to protect surface waters is made when waste management licence applications are considered under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) (1990) Pt II, and under the Pollution Prevention Control (PPC) Act (2000). The agency has recently begun a programme of work under the EU Landfill Directive to review all operating landfill sites.

(iii) The agency has not carried out any assessments of risks to river quality from sites at which radioactive waste is stored. However, the agency undertakes an extensive programme of monitoring for radioactivity in the environment and would carry out a specific assessment of a particular site if this monitoring, or any other information, indicated cause for concern. For example, the principal site for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste is the Drigg site in Cumbria. The agency recently required BNFL to submit radiological assessments for the site, which indicated that the levels of risks generally meet current regulatory requirements and that the site can be operated safely for the foreseeable future. The agency is carrying out an independent appraisal of the BNFL assessment.

(iv) The agency recently undertook a specific water quality monitoring programme at selected farm-burial sites which has now been handed over to DEFRA. DEFRA also undertakes water quality monitoring of surface and groundwater at all mass burial sites. The agency continues to audit and monitor water quality at all its routine monitoring points.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the(a) European Directives and (b) other regulations under which pollution to rivers from discharges from (i) abandoned mine workings, (ii) landfill sites, (iii) radioactive waste storage sites and (iv) animal burial mounds are covered. [86410]

Mr. Morley

The Environment Agency and the Department hold a database of discharges regulation of discharges to controlled waters is exercised through the following measures:

  1. (i) From abandoned mine workings, The Mines (Notice of Abandonment) Regulations 1998 under the Water Resources Act 1991, as amended by the Environment Act 1995.
  2. (ii) From landfill sites, Waste Framework Directive 1975 (75/442/EEC), as amended by 1991 (91/156/EEC) and Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the Landfill of Waste, Implemented in England and Wales by the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No. 1559).
  3. (iii) There are no directives or regulations relating specifically to discharges to rivers from radioactive waste storage sites, but Directive 96/29/Euratom and the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 are relevant to the control of radioactive discharges generally.
  4. (iv) Animal carcass disposal is covered by Council Directives 90/667/EEC (Animal Waste Directive) and 80/68/EEC (Groundwater Directive), the Animal By-Products Order (ABPO) (1999) and the Groundwater Regulations (1998).

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