(Title Image: © Copyright Nick Chipchase and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence BY-SA-2.0)
- EDF will undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment on new mud dredged from the construction site of Hinkley C nuclear power station, set to be dumped off the coast of Cardiff.
- Support for thorough testing of the mud, but people need to know that “it’s not nuclear waste”.
- Natural Resources Wales “won’t issue a marine licence for unsafe sediment”.
P-05-1003 “Demand an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) now on the dumping of radioactively contaminated mud in Welsh waters”
Submitted by Cian Ciaran
Signatures: 10,692
Environmental assessment process needs to be open and transparent
Chair of the Petitions Committee, Janet Finch-Saunders MS (Con, Aberconwy), outlined why the petitioners had secured a victory (of sorts) before the debate was tabled.
She praised EDF and Natural Resources Wales for providing regular public updates via a dedicated web page, which is a big improvement on the last time the issue was raised in the Senedd. Whether the UK uses nuclear power or not is beyond the scope of the petition and the Senedd, but the only way people can be sure the dredged mud is safe is through detailed testing.
Llyr Gruffydd MS (Plaid, North Wales) noted EDF’s intention to go beyond the usual regulatory requirements to provide additional assurances, which he said was a measure of the petition campaign’s effectiveness. Given the tidal range of the Severn estuary, the dredged mud would spread across a wide area.
Andrew RT Davies MS (Con, South Wales Central) backs nuclear energy but believes it’s important that EDF “don’t mark their own homework”; the methodology has to be tested.
Jenny Rathbone MS (Lab, Cardiff Central) added that it was important to stress that it’s not nuclear waste being dumped off Cardiff – which is the impression some people have – while Caroline Jones MS (Ind, South Wales West) hoped for deep depth testing for a wider range of radionucleotides.
No marine licence if the sediment is deemed to be unsafe
Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham), welcomed EDF’s announcement. She couldn’t comment on the EIA process itself as there are legal duties on the Welsh Government as an appeals body.
She was quite clear that no marine licence would be granted if the mud is deemed to be unsafe.
“I can assure Members that Natural Resources Wales will require a robust and thorough EIA process to support an application for a marine licence, which will be subject to consultation with NRW’s technical experts and the public. A marine licence to dispose of marine sediment will only be granted by NRW following a favourable decision on the EIA, and only if the necessary sediment testing – conducted in line with international standards – determines the material is safe and suitable for disposal at sea, and poses no significant risk to environmental or human health.”
– Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths
The petition was unanimously noted.
