The Environment Agency have just released a statement in which they admit that their monitoring stations have been under-recording values for hydrogen sulphide emissions by between two thirds to a half lower than actual levels. This misreporting means that only data gathered from September this year is now considered by them to be accurate.
The full EA statement is in their Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2093150937533046/posts/2502163803298422/
And also online here: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/lates...
This error, seemingly caused by miscommunication with the manufacturers of the monitoring equipment, has affected all monitoring stations nationwide, though clearly nowhere has been as badly affected as Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The community have been badly let down and deserve a proper apology, going far beyond "we are sorry this has happened". We have all relied on the weekly numbers and I know that the dataset may well form part of the case for damages many residents are pursuing.
The results of the monitoring exercises that took place in 2017/18 and in the first half of 2019, before I became your MP, are also clearly now incorrect. Given that the EA relied on these results to justify to me why they would not install more monitoring (before eventually realising the stink was so bad they would have to), the community was particularly badly let down in this regard.
We urgently need the EA to find a way (using independent experts) to restate all the historical data, correcting for the errors in calibration.
This error has dented public confidence in the EA yet further, and I will of course be raising it in the House of Commons on my return. I have already spoken in person to both the Secretary of State and the Waste Minister expressing my shock and the anger that the people of Newcastle will feel.
There must be a proper inquiry, with consequences, as to how this could have happened and gone undetected for so long. There must be a proper apology by the EA to everyone affected. And there must be a conclusion to the EA's regulatory investigation. The operator should be prosecuted for the many repeated and severe breaches of its licence, and the impact its failings have had on the health and wellbeing of the community.
The EA will be holding a public meeting on Zoom, at 7pm on Monday 9th October. I would strongly encourage all who can to come along and ask questions of the EA. The link to that meeting is here: https://zoom.us/j/99589451786...
You can also submit questions in advance here: https://app.sli.do/event/bu5BerimyGhHXXArvAU2Qo