Northumbrian sewage treatment call-in requests turned down
07/05/2008
Applications from Northumbrian Water to vary the treatment of sewage discharges from six sewage works in the north east will not be ‘called in’ for a decision by the Secretary of State for the Environment.
Sewage discharges to coastal waters must be granted consent by the Environment Agency and objectors to consent proposals can request that the Secretary of State call in an application for his own consideration if they believe that the Environment Agency has not addressed their concerns.
To qualify for a call-in, the proposed discharges must be of more than regional significance and must raise novel or unusual issues which have not been publicly debated in another context. The Secretary of State found that the Northumbrian Water applications did not meet these criteria.
Objections were made to Northumbrian Water’s proposal to change its existing consents of year-round ultra violet treatment at six sites to treatment on a seasonal basis, between May and September, to coincide with the bathing season. Secondary treatment of the effluent would continue to apply year-round. Objectors were concerned that reducing the UV treatment to a seasonal only basis would present a health risk to water users outside that window.
Having conducted its own assessment and considered the evidence from consultants appointed by Northumbrian Water, the Environment Agency determined that varying the UV treatment on a seasonal basis presented no risk to water quality at four of the six sites. However it considered that at two sites, Howdon and Marske, there would be a potential risk to water quality. The Agency has therefore recommended that, to protect the wellbeing of water users, year-round UV treatment should continue at Marske, and seasonal variation at Howdon must be extended from the beginning of April to the end of November.
The Secretary of State is satisfied with the Environment Agency’s assessment of the water quality impact, and with the precautions it has proposed to protect water users. His decision not to intervene means that the Agency will now issue the variations of consents for four sites, issue a revised consent for Howdon, and refuse the application for Marske.
The Environment Agency’s decision document is available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Notes for Editors
1. The six sites which are the subject of Northumbrian Water’s applications are Marske, Seaton Carew, Billingham, Howdon, Hendon, and Bran Sands.
2. The Environment Agency has assessed that under the approved consents the discharges at all six sites will comply with the more stringent water quality standards which must be met under the Revised Bathing Water Directive. This came into force on 24 March 2006 and will be transposed into English law shortly. It sets tighter microbiological standards than the current Directive, and all bathing waters are expected to meet the new ‘sufficient’ standard by 2015.
3. Under the Water Resources Act 1991(the WRA), the Environment Agency (the Agency) has responsibility for the regulation of discharges to rivers, lakes, tidal, coastal and groundwaters in England and Wales.
4. To make a discharge, it is a requirement under the WRA 91 to make an application for consent from the Agency to discharge. Most applications have to be advertised, and third parties have the right to lodge representations or objections against the application to the Agency before a decision is made.
5. The Act also provides objectors with a route to the Secretary of State to request him to ‘call in’ an application if they have continuing concerns about an application not already addressed by the Agency. This is not a formal appeals mechanism, but is a means of allowing objectors to draw cases to the attention of the Secretary of State who considers each call in request against established criteria. Depending on whether or not the criteria are met, the Secretary of State can either call in an application for his own determination or refuse the request, in which case the application is returned to the Agency for determination.