Environment Agency apologises after revealing Walleys Quarry monitoring not working properly

The Environment Agency has apologised to residents living near a landfill site in Staffordshire after revealing some of its emissions monitoring sensors hadn't been working properly.

Emissions coming out of Walleys Quarry have been assessed for a number of years since thousands of people living nearby complained that they were suffering from health problems.

The site now has to comply with regulations set by the Environment Agency, which has three monitoring facilities around the landfill site, assessing the presence of methane and hydrogen sulphide.

It shares the data on a weekly and monthly basis as part of their checks as to whether the site is making required improvements to its impact on the environment.

But this week the agency found an issue in the monitoring of hydrogen sulphide, which the council says means the data cannot be relied on to assess the impact on people's health.

The Environment Agency says it hasn't stopped them from continuing to regulate to ensure the landfill operator complies with its permit.

However, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme has hit out, saying historical data now needs reassessing too.

He says; "The community have been badly let down and deserve a proper apology, going far beyond "we are sorry this has happened". 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.

"The results of the previous monitoring exercises that took place in 2017/18 and in the first half of 2019 are also clearly now incorrect. Given that the EA relied on these results to justify to me why they would not install more monitoring (before eventually realising the stink was so bad they would have to), the community was particularly badly let down in this regard.

"The EA urgently need 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.

"There must be a proper inquiry, with consequences, as to how this could have happened and gone undetected for so long. There must be a proper apology by the EA to everyone affected. And there must be a conclusion to the EA's regulatory investigation. The operator should be prosecuted for the many repeated and severe breaches of its licence, and the impact the failings at the landfill have had on the health and wellbeing of the community.

"The EA will be holding a public meeting on Zoom, at 7pm on Monday 9th October. I would strongly encourage all who can to come along and ask questions of the EA."

The Environment Agency says it has sought advice from the manufacturer and is seeking further advice from independent experts to see if it is possible to reliably adjust the historic data to correct for the issue.

The company that operates the site said; "Walleys Quarry Ltd is surprised and disappointed with the content of the EA update on the 5th of October. We will await further information from them to allow to us to better understand the full implications of this development.

"The statement made by the EA does not detract from the work WQL has been undertaking which has seen significant reductions in reporting complaints attributed to the site and its operations."

In a statement, Alan White, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: "The Environment Agency is responsible for regulating Walleys Quarry on behalf of the people of Staffordshire, so this announcement is very troubling and raises several questions.

"I think we all wonder how such a basic, but crucial, mistake could happen and then remain unnoticed for so long, and I call now upon the Secretary of State to commission a public inquiry into the EA’s governance of this site to provide residents with answers and to allow lessons to be learned for the future.

"The health and wellbeing of people in Newcastle-under-Lyme remains our primary concern and we will share the updated public health advice as it becomes available. I encourage people to attend the virtual public meeting on Monday if they have further questions."

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