Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to tackle the toxic fumes at Walley's Quarry.
The actions taken by the Environment Agency (EA) at Walleys Quarry have resulted in a significant reduction in the levels of hydrogen sulphide escaping the landfill since March 2021. Its strategy, set out in a revised plan published on 14 October 2021, is to contain, capture, and destroy the gas using a range of complex engineering solutions, with the aim of delivering a long-term solution to the issues caused by the decomposition of previously deposited waste.
Recent actions the EA has instructed the operator to take to tackle the issue include:
The EA continues to monitor hydrogen sulphide levels off site using four mobile monitoring facilities stationed around Walleys Quarry. Three of these monitors showed monthly average concentrations below 2 µg/m3 (micro-grams per cubic metre) the long-term (lifetime) health-based guidance values.
I visited Walleys Quarry on 2 December 2021, and subsequently met with my honourable Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Aaron Bell), the Environment Agency and representatives from the local community, to further understand the situation and the work underway to resolve this issue.