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 Answers of 25 July 2017 to Questions 5342, 5394, 5395 and 5396, what the reasons are for the time taken by the Environment Agency to deal with the site operated by Rowan Oak Waste at Shaw Road in Dudley.

The Environment Agency revoked the operator’s permit in April 2016 and served notice against the operator to clear the site by 16 September 2016. When the operator failed to clear the site the Environment Agency started a formal investigation to take firm enforcement action against the operator.

Investigations at this level can take some time to complete as the Environment Agency wants to build the best and strongest case against an offender, particularly if an investigation is complex as for the site operated by Rowan Oak Waste at Shaw Road in Dudley. During the investigation the Environment Agency has also been working hard to get the landowner to take responsibility for clearing the waste. By 5 September 2017, 290 tonnes of waste have been removed with the Environment Agency making sure that all waste leaving the site is disposed of legitimately.

The case is currently being reviewed by the Environment Agency legal team and once this review has been completed the Environment Agency will be taking the next step towards appropriate enforcement action against the operator.