An application to change
the Environmental Permit for Welbeck landfill
in Wakefield has been granted by the Environment
Agency.
The application allows
a change in height to which waste can be
tipped up to before the waste settles.
However, the permit variation will not change
the final height and shape of the site which
is laid down in the council’s planning permission.
Operators Welbeck Waste
Management Ltd (WWML) will be required to
regularly assess how the waste is settling.
If the results show waste is settling differently
than predicted, then the operators will
have to make adjustments so that they comply
with the local planning authority’s final
height requirement.
WWML originally only
allowed for a 10 per cent height reduction
once the waste had settled, however evidence
from across the country is that a landfill’s
contents typically settle by between 20
and 30 per cent. The operators have now
modelled the likely future settlement rate
using up-to-date information from Welbeck,
and applied to vary its permit using the
new data.
Jacqui Tootill, Environment
Agency industry regulation team leader,
said: “We are confident the variation will
not affect the risk of pollution and we
will keep the operation of the site under
review.
“Waste settlement is
a complex process. The nature of waste being
tipped affects settlement - as we expect
the type of waste going to landfill to alter
in the future we will monitor settlement
rates to be able to respond to any changes.”
+ More
Environment Agency employee
awarded for emergency planning excellence
An Environment Agency
employee has been honoured with a highly
prestigious emergency planning award in
recognition for organising a major multi-agency
coastal flooding exercise across Sussex,
Kent and Hampshire.
An Environment Agency
employee has been honoured with a highly
prestigious emergency planning award in
recognition for organising a major multi-agency
coastal flooding exercise across Sussex,
Kent and Hampshire.
Alice Hayes, Senior
Emergency Planning Officer for the Environment
Agency’s Southern Region, was presented
with the Emergency Planning Society’s award
at a ceremony held at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
The coveted Emergency
Planner of the Year award was won by Alice
for organising Exercise Tempest, a three-day
exercise designed to test the Environment
Agency’s resilience and preparedness for
a flooding emergency to the limit.
Taking place in February
this year, the dramatic scenario involved
thousands of properties across the three
counties at severe risk of flooding, with
homes being evacuated and over 200 staff
from the Environment Agency, the emergency
services, local authorities and Southern
Water involved in responding to the incident.
The exercise also incorporated
live elements where Environment Agency Operations
Delivery teams from across the region worked
alongside Fire and Rescue Services, EDF
Energy and Southern Water colleagues to
raise temporary flood barriers around two
critical infrastructure sites – a wastewater
treatment works and an electricity substation.
Alice Hayes said: “I
am extremely proud to have received this
award whilst working for the Environment
Agency. It is very important to me that
our reputation in emergency management continues
to improve and this industry recognition
really demonstrates that we, and all other
agencies involved, are highly focussed on
raising our game.
“Exercises such as this
are a huge part of our incident management
improvement programme and this honour will
go a long way to help our preparedness for
future emergencies.”
In the Environment Agency’s
Southern Region, which covers Kent, Sussex,
Hampshire and Isle of Wight, around 380,000
homes and businesses are at risk from flooding
either from the sea, rivers or groundwater.
The Environment Agency has an important
role reducing the likelihood where possible.
But not all flooding can be prevented so
it is essential that those people at risk
receive warning and prepare in advance to
limit the damage a flood can leave behind.
Visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline
or call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 to find
out if you are at risk of flooding and get
advice on how to prepare in advance to minimise
the damage.
