Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of houses protected in the Fylde constituency as a result of (a) work done to Dock Road pumping station and (b) the Church Scar Coast Protection Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The number of houses better protected from flooding as a result of (a) work done to Dock Road pumping station is 652 and (b) the Church Scar Coast Protection Scheme is 2,347.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2019 to Question 218283, what funding has been allocated to the flood defence works in that Answer and related works in (a) the Fylde Coast and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Funding has been allocated as follows to the flood defence works referenced in the answer of 7 February 2019 to PQ 218283:
£22,000 to the completed embankment improvements to the south of Moss Side, and £15,000 to embankment improvements to the north of Moss Side, which are planned for April 2019.
£138,000 for forecast maintenance costs in 2019/20 in areas such as Main Drain and Liggard Brook, including £57,000 for channel maintenance and £81,000 operating costs for pumping stations and tidal outfalls.
Over £20 million to the Fairhaven and Church Scar Coast Protection Scheme.
£1.2 million to the Starr Hill Sand Dunes project.
The Environment Agency is delivering a joint capital programme with other Risk Management Authorities to better protect over 34,000 homes from flooding in Lancashire between 2015 and 2021 at an estimated cost of £100 million. This programme has already delivered better protection to nearly 28,000 homes and over 1,000 businesses.
In addition to the capital programme, in 2018/19 £3 million was allocated in Lancashire for maintaining flood risk assets such as flood basins and embankments. This level of investment is expected to continue until 2021 to ensure these assets are in the right condition to protect people and homes.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve flood prevention in rural Fylde.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Environment Agency (EA) invests where it can provide the greatest benefit to people and property to better protect against the risk of flooding.
The EA has recently completed the £3 million East Lytham Flood Alleviation Scheme which better protects 652 properties and a large rural area of South Fylde.
The EA completed embankment improvements in 2018 south of Moss Side, with another embankment improvement just north of Moss Side planned for April this year.
The EA also carries out routine maintenance across rural areas where they link urban areas such as the Main Drain and Liggard Brook catchments.
In wider Fylde, the Fairhaven and Church Scar Coast Protection Scheme, which includes Granny's Bay, is currently in construction and due to be completed by 2020. The scheme has been funded by over £20 million of grant in aid and will better protect 2347 properties.
Blackpool Council is also delivering the Starr Hill Sand Dunes project in partnership with Fylde Borough Council and Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The scheme will better protect 521 properties, whilst also enhancing the dune system through environmental improvements.
The EA also attends the Fylde Making Space for Water Group and continues to actively work with partners to address flooding issues in Fylde.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of noise levels at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site since the commencement of (a) exploratory drilling and (b) exploratory fracturing.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Lancashire Country Council and the Environment Agency are jointly responsible for noise level assessments under planning conditions and environmental permit conditions.
Flaring operations are currently the only activity regulated under an environmental permit that noise could be attributed to. The Environment Agency carefully considered emissions from noise and vibrations during its environmental permit determination and concluded that they are not an issue due to the design of the flare, the location of the site, and the level of background noise.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the level of compliance by Cuadrilla Resources with relevant environmental restrictions at its shale gas site at Preston New Road.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Environment Agency has been carrying out regular inspections, audits and unannounced spot checks to ensure that Cuadrilla is compliant with the legally binding conditions in the environmental permit.
Cuadrilla had a small number of non-compliances with their environmental permit in 2017, mostly for procedural matters. This is not uncommon for industrial sites after site inspections and audits. In these instances the Environment Agency has provided advice and guidance to ensure full compliance with the permits. In response Cuadrilla has implemented the required improvements. So far in 2018, no permit non-compliances have been recorded.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential air quality effects of shale gas extraction since the completion of the Air Quality Expert Group report n that subject in 2015.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The report, “Potential Air Quality Impacts of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK”, prepared by the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) was published on 27 July and no further assessment of air quality impacts from this activity has been carried out.
However, in line with the AQEG recommendations, the Environment Agency (EA) continues to monitor air quality around identified exploration sites before, during and after activities and they provide strict guidance that operators must adhere to.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the waste water disposal system at the Preston New Road Shale Gas site.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Environmental permits issued by the Environment Agency set legally binding conditions. The permit at Preston New Road allows for hydraulic fracturing fluid that returns to the surface, known as flowback fluid, to be reused and recycled onsite in the process. Flowback fluid that cannot be recycled will become waste, and must be taken offsite for treatment at appropriately licensed waste water treatment facilities.
Waste flowback is not expected to be produced at the site until further into the fracturing programme. At that time the Environment Agency plan to carry out a full audit of flowback storage, sampling and disposal.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to monitor emissions from shale gas sites once they have been decommissioned.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Environment Agency requires monitoring of the environmental conditions at shale gas sites before operations can start in accordance with the environmental permit granted. This provides a valuable evidence base to compare against monitoring results taken during and after operations. The type and period of monitoring required after decommissioning is determined on a site by site basis. It will depend on the risks associated with the type and scale of activities at a particular site, together with the local environmental setting.
The Environment Agency will not allow an operator to surrender their permit until it is satisfied that the well has been decommissioned in line with the Health and Safety Executive's requirements and either no pollution has occurred at a site, or if it has, that the site has been returned to its original condition.