For several years, the community around the Walleys Quarry landfill has complained about odours from the site (see letsrecycle.com story). The Agency has been monitoring emissions from the facility over this time and publishing data.
On Thursday (5 October), the Agency revealed that it had paused the usual publication of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) data due to an issue it had identified which meant this has likely been “underreported”.
The issue relates to the calibration process for the H2S analysers in all of the EA’s mobile monitoring facilities, the Agency said.
It is only the data for H2S that is affected. The data for all other emissions the EA monitors and makes available monthly here is unaffected.
‘Concerning’
Ahead of a virtual public meeting later today, the leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council, Simon Tagg, called on the government to launch a public inquiry.
He said: “As the Environment Agency is responsible for the regulation of Walleys Quarry, this news is both extremely disappointing and very concerning. I call on the Secretary of State to launch an independent public inquiry to find out hy this massive failure by the Environment Agency happened.”
“Newcastle-under-Lyme rough Council has worked tirelessly, within the limits of its legal powers, to improve and resolve this problem and, reviewing our actions, from what we know at the moment, this does not alter any of the steps we have taken so far.”
Scale
The scale of underreporting at the site will vary over time, according to the EA, which said it has sought advice from the manufacturer.
The spokesperson said the regulator is also seeking further advice from independent experts to see if it is possible to reliably adjust the historic data to correct for this issue.
Confidence
Aaron Bell, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme said the community has been “badly let down”.
He called for a “proper apology going far beyond ‘we are sorry this has happened’.
Mr Bell said: “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.
“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.”
Disappointed
A spokesperson for Walleys Quarry Ltd said it was “surprised and disappointed” with the EA’s admission and it will “await further information from them to allow to us to better understand the full implications of this development.”
The company has in the past undertaken a variety of works aiming to reduce complaints from the site (see letsrecycle.com story).
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