The Environment Agency has released a statement confirming the operator of Walley's Quarry landfill has breached their environmental permit two further times.
The breaches were found when EA officers made an unannounced off-site visit, out of hours on Wednesday 18 August 2021, and a subsequent site inspection.
The breaches relate to:
- Insufficient covering of tipped materials at the end of the working day.
- Odour outside the site at a level likely to cause pollution, as perceived by an authorised officer, in the absence of appropriate measures to prevent or minimise the odour.
I know that a lot of constituents have speculated that the above may be the case so the announcement will come as welcome news. This can only go to show that more unannounced visits are the way forward to determine the full extent of permit incompliance.
The operator now has to carry out actions to remedy these breaches, including:
- Covering waste sufficiently by the end of each working day to avoid attracting vermin. There will be further assessments and inspections to check that the operator is taking this action.
- Urgently carry out a surface emission survey and make checks on the temporary capping layer and identify any necessary improvements.
- Install appropriate capping to prevent emissions of landfill gas outside the site boundary (due by 30 September).
The statement can be read in full here: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/…/walleys-quarry…/
It is also very disappointing to find out that the drilling of gas wells that was due to start today will be delayed until Friday, due to issues with the contractor. The operator have released a statement here: https://twitter.com/WalleysQ/status/1437409898770452484