Around 200 stakeholders learned of the progress being made in decommissioning and cleaning up the legacy left from the earliest days of the UK’s civil nuclear industry.

The event, which also welcomed representatives from the communities around the NDA’s 17 sites, featured innovative technology being developed by the nuclear supply chain.

Some of the remote and robotic technologies that have been put into action on the NDA’s sites were showcased.

It was held at the South Gloucestershire College Berkeley Green Campus – formerly the Berkeley Centre – and played a vital research role for the UK civil nuclear industry.

NDA Stakeholder Summit 2018

David Peattie, NDA CEO, spoke about the importance of the event:

Maintaining productive relationships with our stakeholders is a vital part of the NDA’s work and the Stakeholder Summit is an extremely helpful way of explaining the progress we’re making in our decommissioning mission.

Hosting this annual event at the former Berkeley Centre, which has been converted from an operational nuclear site to a leading University Technical College, is a great example of the NDA delivering its mission.

The Stakeholder Summit aimed to encourage discussion about the NDA’s work in delivering its mission focussing on progress in R&D, waste management, skills and socio-economic sustainability.

An exhibition was set up highlighting how the NDA and its business units work together, while workshops saw delegates learn more about the UK’s decommissioning challenge.

The second day was devoted to discussing support for the socio-economic initiatives and the NDA’s partnerships with its communities.

This year the Summit welcomed international guests from a number of local authorities in Europe with nuclear sites in their areas. They learned how the NDA interacts with its communities and its world-leading work in civil nuclear decommissioning.

Professor Melanie Brownridge, Head of Technology at the NDA, spoke at the event and said:

The Stakeholder Summit gives us an opportunity to communicate with people how R&D is helping us to deliver our mission and how the technology that we’re deploying on our sites is helping us to achieve this mission safer, faster and cheaper.

Around 200 stakeholders learned of the progress being made in decommissioning and cleaning up the legacy left from the earliest days of the UK’s civil nuclear industry.

The event, which also welcomed representatives from the communities around the NDA’s 17 sites, featured innovative technology being developed by the nuclear supply chain.

Some of the remote and robotic technologies that have been put into action on the NDA’s sites were showcased.

It was held at the South Gloucestershire College Berkeley Green Campus – formerly the Berkeley Centre – and played a vital research role for the UK civil nuclear industry.

NDA Stakeholder Summit 2018

David Peattie, NDA CEO, spoke about the importance of the event:

Maintaining productive relationships with our stakeholders is a vital part of the NDA’s work and the Stakeholder Summit is an extremely helpful way of explaining the progress we’re making in our decommissioning mission.

Hosting this annual event at the former Berkeley Centre, which has been converted from an operational nuclear site to a leading University Technical College, is a great example of the NDA delivering its mission.

The Stakeholder Summit aimed to encourage discussion about the NDA’s work in delivering its mission focussing on progress in R&D, waste management, skills and socio-economic sustainability.

An exhibition was set up highlighting how the NDA and its business units work together, while workshops saw delegates learn more about the UK’s decommissioning challenge.

The second day was devoted to discussing support for the socio-economic initiatives and the NDA’s partnerships with its communities.

This year the Summit welcomed international guests from a number of local authorities in Europe with nuclear sites in their areas. They learned how the NDA interacts with its communities and its world-leading work in civil nuclear decommissioning.

Professor Melanie Brownridge, Head of Technology at the NDA, spoke at the event and said:

The Stakeholder Summit gives us an opportunity to communicate with people how R&D is helping us to deliver our mission and how the technology that we’re deploying on our sites is helping us to achieve this mission safer, faster and cheaper.

Although there has been a gradual improving trend in environmental performance over recent years, the industry is not doing enough to reduce serious pollution incidents and comply with permits. Last year saw a rise in the most serious pollution incidents, with ‘Category 1’ incidents at 11. Previous reductions in serious (Category 1 and 2) incidents have also plateaued continuing at around one incident per week.

The Water and Sewerage Companies’ Environmental Performance Report rates how well the big nine water and sewage companies (operating mainly or wholly in England) managed their impact on the environment in 2017. This is done across a wide range of measures – including pollution, managing sewage and complying with permits – and also compares individual company performance.

For the third year running, United Utilities and Wessex Water were the top performing water companies, and now Severn Trent Water has joined them. These companies received the top 4 star rating.

While the majority of companies delivered a ‘good’ or ‘leading’ performance, there are some poorer performers – the report reveals an urgent need by South West Water and Northumbrian Water to improve their performance which has seen them rated lowest this year. South West Water are the worst performer on pollution incidents and Northumbrian Water on permit compliance.

This comes in the face of record fines for the sector – in total more than £21million were issued as a result of 16 successful prosecutions by the Environment Agency. This has been driven by changes in Sentencing Guidelines. Earlier in the year, Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, called for fines for the most serious pollution incidents to be proportionate to the turnover of water companies.

Despite some good performances, the report demands far greater progress in 2018 and subsequent years. The Environment Agency has recently set out a more ambitious programme of environmental improvements which water companies will have to make between 2020 and 2025 – totalling £5billion of investment.

Toby Willison, Executive Director of Operations for the Environment Agency, said:

The leading companies in this report show that reducing their environmental impact can be done, so we look to companies to share good practice and improve quickly. But one serious pollution incident is one too many. We will always work closely with companies who want to do the right thing but we will take action against those who don’t.

Over the last 30 years there has been a significant improvement in water quality and this has happened not only thanks to the industry’s massive investment but also the Environment Agency’s strong regulatory role

The environment will benefit from a further £5billion of investment from the water sector by 2025. We expect to see a clear and continued focus on environmental performance in the next round of water company business plans to be submitted in the autumn.

The report concludes with a reminder about the pressures on water quality and supply – with a growing population and climate pressures on the water environment, and increased public and legal expectation, water companies need to further rise to the challenge and improve promptly. The Environment Agency will work with and regulate the companies to help achieve a better environment.

The beloved bumblebee is one of dozens of species set to benefit from an Environment Agency project to improve habitat for pollinators.

A pioneering pilot scheme in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire sees Environment Agency teams adapting their routine work in a bid to boost biodiversity.

The teams, who maintain thousands of kilometres of river and reservoir banks that serve as flood defences, have been experimenting with the frequency and timings of maintenance work, like grass-cutting, on the banks to see what best preserves the wildflowers and herbs bees need.

They have also compared the results of removing the grass-clippings or leaving them in situ – and have found that removing them helps plants like clover, ox-eye daisies, dandelions and buttercups flourish.

Tapping into expert guidance from a consultant botanist and entomologist, the trial aims to increase the native bee population including bufftail, solitary, carpenter, mining and leaf-cutting bees, as well as butterflies, moths, and other pollinators.

This season marks the third year of the 5 year pilot – and also marks the third annual Bees Needs Week, an initiative by government, conservation groups, industry and retailers to raise awareness of simple things anyone can do to support pollinators, like growing more flowers and leaving patches of their garden to grow wild.

At the same time, biodiversity officers have also been making the most of EA-owned buildings like pumping stations and unused land to install bee boxes, hotels and havens made of natural scrap material – many of which were occupied almost immediately.

Nikki Loveday, biodiversity officer with the Environment Agency, said:

It’s our mission to protect people and wildlife and this is a brilliant example of how being flexible and innovative can help us achieve more for our environment.

We’re adapting how we carry out vital maintenance on our flood defences and looking for any opportunity to support our precious pollinators and the wider ecology.

Ultimately, if we can make small changes at no cost we’ll aim to share our learning and inspire others to do the same to have a big impact.

Meanwhile, a series of workshops for staff are helping them learn more about pollinators and how to identify and create simple habitats. More than 50 staff have are already putting this training to use in their daily work – for example, drilling holes in wooden posts for carpenter bees when fixing fences.

Entomologist Steven Falk, an expert in bees, hoverflies and other pollinators, who has delivered the training and advised on the project, said:

Bees and other pollinators put approximately a third of all the food we eat onto our plates, and it’s so important we support them by protecting and enhancing their habitat.

We know from experience that doing the right things, like enriching their nesting and foraging spaces, will increase the population of our pollinators. Even small changes can make a big difference of lots of people do them at lots of sites.

The Environment Agency is in a good position to contribute since it oversees so much land and it gives me great pleasure to work with them to give a boost to our bees.

For more on small actions you can take to support pollinators, visit https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bees-needs/.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by