§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they intend to take to encourage operators of landfill and of mass burial sites in counties seriously affected by foot and mouth 59WA disease to build on existing initiatives to ensure that complaints of smell or other environmental intrusions on the local community are fully addressed. [HL102]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The EA issues licences to waste disposal sites in England and Wales. These licences contain conditions to ensure that the activities authorised do not cause pollution of the environment, harm to human health or become seriously detrimental to the amenities of the locality. Conditions will typically stipulate environmental monitoring requirements for surface and groundwaters, leachate, gases and odours. The licence will also contain conditions relating to the aftercare and post closure monitoring of the landfill site until such a time that the licence is surrendered. The agency carries out appropriate periodic inspections of waste management facilities to check and audit operator compliance with the conditions of the licence and to ensure protection of the environment and human health.
Where odour complaints relate to sources or activities regulated by the agency such as licensed landfill sites, the complaint will be fully investigated and managed in accordance with agency procedures. In light of recent legislative developments, the EA is due to issue a public consultation relating to guidance documents on the management of landfill gas. This guidance will be used by the EA, Iandfill operators and their advisers to achieve a step change in the management of landfill gas. A number of these guidance documents will focus on the management and minimisation of landfill gas emissions, which will have a beneficial impact on reducing odour.