The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for:
The Environment Agency has joined forces with Durham Constabulary in a Christmas crackdown on rural crime.
Fisheries enforcement officers supported police on patrols in the operation in Weardale on Wednesday night, 20 December.
It follows previous joint partnership operations in the north east to disrupt travelling criminals and gather intelligence about rural crime, including illegal fishing.
Also joining police and the Environment Agency was Weardale and Teesdale Mountain Rescue team and local Weardale farmers.
During the operation police used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to target vehicles suspected of being linked to crime, as well as checking vehicles in suspicious circumstances and focusing on key locations.
The operation resulted in a number of suspected lamping activities in relation to game poaching – where a light is used to hunt animals. And intelligence was passed between police and fisheries officers about suspicious activity and vehicles.
Kevin Summerson, Fisheries Enforcement Specialist for the Environment Agency in the north east, said:
This operation is another example of the close relationship that has developed over a number of years with Durham Constabulary.
We work together every day to tackle many aspects of rural, environmental and wildlife crime. It’s a co-ordinated effort to disrupt potential illegal activity, identify offenders and gather intelligence.
Illegal fishing damages fish stocks and the environment and is unfair on anglers who abide by the law and buy their rod licences – the income from which is used to improve fisheries and habitats.
We always act on intelligence we receive and I’d urge anyone with information about suspected illegal fishing to contact us.
Sergeant Simon Rogers, from Durham Constabulary, added:
We regularly work with partners such as the Environment Agency on operations to tackle rural crime. Wednesday’s operation was part of our ongoing commitment to tackle and disrupt those who choose to commit crime in rural areas.
Anyone who believes they have been a victim of crime should contact us on 101, or dial 999 in an emergency.
Anyone with information about illegal fishing is asked to contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour Incident Hotline on 0800 807060 or the police on 101. In an emergency or to report a crime ongoing always dial 999.
Sellafield’s newest plant is up and running, supporting the site’s clean-up mission.
Evaporator D has been set to work reducing the volume of Sellafield’s most radioactive waste product – highly active liquor.
The £750m plant is the only evaporator on the site able to process high-level liquid waste created during the clean-out of the Sellafield’s reprocessing plants.
It acts like a giant kettle, reducing the volume of liquor so it can be turned into glass form and safely stored.
The facility was switched on at 8am on 8 December and is going through a 12 month process to prove its capability to regulators.
Once fully operational, Sellafield’s two older evaporators will retire.
Steve Bostock, Sellafield Ltd chief operating officer, said:
Cleaning up the Sellafield site safely and securely is our mission. Evaporator D is a critical part.
It will enable us to clean out our former reprocessing plants; no other facility could do this.
It will also allow us to retire our oldest evaporators. We’ve worked these evaporators hard and they are nearing the end of their useful life.
Sellafield Ltd operates on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Duncan Thompson, the NDA’s Sellafield programme director, said:
Evaporator D provides important capability required to complete our mission in a safe, secure and cost-effective manner.
It’s a complex piece of nuclear engineering and I thank all those involved from Sellafield Ltd and the supply chain for their hard work and commitment.
The project to design and construct Evaporator D was challenging. It was the first project of its size in many years. The building includes 23,000 tonnes of concrete and 22km of pipework. It also required the construction of other facilities, such as cooling towers.
The evaporator modules were so large they had to be transported by sea. A docking platform was constructed on Sellafield’s beach. Bridges and street furniture were removed to clear its route from shore to site.
Lessons learned have shaped how Sellafield Ltd will manage future projects. A project delivery directorate has been created alongside the ‘Project Academy’, which provides training for the company’s workforce, supply chain, and people from the local community, in association with University of Cumbria.
Evaporator D was delivered by Sellafield Ltd and principal contractor Costain on behalf of the NDA, as part of its work to reduce the hazards left from the UK’s civil nuclear legacy.
The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.
These notices explain:
David Shrigley was described as a ‘willful and persistent’ offender who flouted the law for financial gain over a lengthy period of time.
Shrigley and his former wife, Donna, were directors of DRS Demolition National Ltd and operated a waste transfer station at Domellick Manor, St Dennis, Cornwall. Magistrates accepted that David Shrigley, 68, was largely to blame for the offences and that his ex-wife, Donna Shrigley, 47, had a far lower culpability.
In 2015 the company went into liquidation and its operating licence was disclaimed. Prior to liquidation, the Environment Agency had become increasingly concerned at the growing quantity of waste being stored at the site.
The operator continued to accept waste which generated income, but failed to process and transfer if off site. The build-up of material, that included mixed landfill waste, posed a serious fire risk and could have caused environmental harm. The company saved money by failing to transfer processed waste off site.
Despite repeated requests from the Environment Agency, the company failed to remove excess waste and improve its management of the site before going into liquidation. This culminated in the directors being served with an Enforcement Notice.
In April 2016 David and Donna Shrigley were jointly convicted, at Bodmin magistrates court, with failing to comply with an Enforcement Notice, breaching permit conditions and operating without a permit. Sentencing included the issuing of a court order for all the controlled waste at Domellick Manor to be cleared and taken to a licensed site for safe disposal within 18 months.
On 12 October 2017, an Environment Agency officer visited the site and saw the court order hadn’t been complied with. He found evidence of fresh waste deposits and signs that tracked vehicles had been operating at the site.
Richard Cloke for the Environment Agency said:
It is essential waste is managed properly. Failure to do so poses a real threat to people living nearby and to the environment, from pollution, odours and fire risk, and can result in expensive clean-up costs. It also undermines the business and reputation of legitimate operators who are doing the right thing. This case demonstrates that courts are increasingly taking illegal waste activity very seriously. We hope this sentence acts as a deterrent to those that might be tempted to flout the law.
David Shrigley, 68, was sentenced to 40 days in prison and ordered to pay £1,039 costs for failing to comply with a court order made under Regulation 44 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Magistrates accepted Donna Shrigley had been unable to clear the site without the co-operation of her ex-husband following their divorce. Crucially, he had failed to transfer ownership of the site away from her as promised; placing her at risk of prosecution. As a result, the court imposed a minimal fine of £1.00 with £259 costs.
The court order is still in place and legal responsibility for the removal of waste from Domellick Manor remains with David Shrigley.