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Sub-seabed disposal control
Volume 16/Number 8/August 1985
the UK has of fast flowing estuaries and extensive coastal waters". Greenpeace has welcomed the moves made by Tioxide in releasing details of its environmental survey, the problem for scientists, however, will be distinguishing the science from the public relations.
be drilled onshore until the full rigour of local planning law had been exercised. In estuarine and coastal areas where planning laws do not apply, the Government has issued planning guidelines (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 173-174) and although some operators have been arguing that planning constraints are holding back the pace of onshore exploration, the Government is making no concessions in this first onshore licensing round.
Sub-seabed Disposal Control Conceding to Opposition pressure the UK Government has introduced an amendment to the Food and Environment Protection Bill (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 173) which will result in the requirement for a licence to be obtained for the disposal of wastes under the seabed. This move reflects concern over the current investigations by the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 93) on the feasibility of sub-seabed disposal of high and medium level radioactive wastes in offshore boreholes, and the commercial interest already being expressed in undertaking such activities. A further Government amendment implements a clause of the Oslo Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft of 1972, for which the Dumping at Sea Act 1974, had previously not made provision. Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Bill, which is to replace the Dumping at Sea Act, will now require the licensing authorities to consider the practical availability of alternative means of disposal or elimination when examining applications for the disposal of wastes at sea.
DOE Consultant Resigns A consultant to the UK Department of the Environment (DOE), who had been advising on nuclear waste strategy, resigned in June claiming that the attitude of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Wastes Inspectorate (NIREX) is compromising the work of the Department of the Environment. In a three-page resignation letter to Junior Environment Minister William Waldegrave, the consultant, Peter Taylor, praises the work of D O E but accuses M A F F of pressing for a resumption of sea dumping while ignoring or playing down research into the wider implications of such activities. MAFF leads the British delegation to the London Dumping Convention.
Onshore Planning Rules Remain The UK Government is refusing to relax local planning authority controls over oil and gas exploration and development projects. In a statement made to the House of Commons on 25 June the Energy Minister, Mr Alick Buchanan Smith, unveiled the UK's first formal onshore licensing round and announced that not a single well will
Wytch Farm EIA BP Petroleum Development Ltd have published a two volume Environmental Impact Assessment which comprised part of a series of supporting documents for their planning application to drill appraisal wells on Furzey Island (Mar. Pollut. Bull 1985, 16, 219). Volume 1 reviews the physical, biological and human environments surrounding Poole Harbour and the Isle of Perbeck. Volume 2 repeats this for Furzey Island, summarizes the proposed development and the impacts and disturbance which may result to the existing environment.
Norway's Oil Pollutionsensitivity Atlas An atlas of maps describing coastal areas sensitive to oil pollution has been produced by SINTEF and IKU in Norway. The atlas, which contains seven maps covering the coast from Finnmark to Rogaland, is the result of a 5-year project initiated by SFT (the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority) and funded by SFT and oil companies operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The environmental data contained in the atlas should enable contingency planners to take decisions on the best allocation of contingency resources in the event of an oil spill threatening Norway's coast. The features identified in the maps include types of shoreline, distribution of animal life especially sea birds and their nesting places, areas supporting recreational activities and areas of commercial interest such as fish farming. Further information can be obtained from Terje Klokk at SINTEF, N-7034 Trondheim, Norway.
Toxic Spill in the Rh6ne A spill of toxic chemicals into the Rh6ne in June has renewed French concern over the adequacy of existing industrial safety regulations. Nearly 300 t of toxic chemicals including pyrocatechine, oxadiazane and diphemilol were flushed into a canal by firehoses during a blaze at a warehouse south of Lyons. The chemicals, which were stored in the warehouse at Rousillon, were used by the French company Rh6ne-Poulenc in the manufacture of herbicides. The canal carried the chemical spill into the Rh6ne, killing fish and putting at risk supplies of drinking and irrigation water. In May the 303
the UK has of fast flowing estuaries and extensive coastal waters". Greenpeace has welcomed the moves made by Tioxide in releasing details of its environmental survey, the problem for scientists, however, will be distinguishing the science from the public relations.
be drilled onshore until the full rigour of local planning law had been exercised. In estuarine and coastal areas where planning laws do not apply, the Government has issued planning guidelines (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 173-174) and although some operators have been arguing that planning constraints are holding back the pace of onshore exploration, the Government is making no concessions in this first onshore licensing round.
Sub-seabed Disposal Control Conceding to Opposition pressure the UK Government has introduced an amendment to the Food and Environment Protection Bill (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 173) which will result in the requirement for a licence to be obtained for the disposal of wastes under the seabed. This move reflects concern over the current investigations by the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1985, 16, 93) on the feasibility of sub-seabed disposal of high and medium level radioactive wastes in offshore boreholes, and the commercial interest already being expressed in undertaking such activities. A further Government amendment implements a clause of the Oslo Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft of 1972, for which the Dumping at Sea Act 1974, had previously not made provision. Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Bill, which is to replace the Dumping at Sea Act, will now require the licensing authorities to consider the practical availability of alternative means of disposal or elimination when examining applications for the disposal of wastes at sea.
DOE Consultant Resigns A consultant to the UK Department of the Environment (DOE), who had been advising on nuclear waste strategy, resigned in June claiming that the attitude of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Nuclear Industry Radioactive Wastes Inspectorate (NIREX) is compromising the work of the Department of the Environment. In a three-page resignation letter to Junior Environment Minister William Waldegrave, the consultant, Peter Taylor, praises the work of D O E but accuses M A F F of pressing for a resumption of sea dumping while ignoring or playing down research into the wider implications of such activities. MAFF leads the British delegation to the London Dumping Convention.
Onshore Planning Rules Remain The UK Government is refusing to relax local planning authority controls over oil and gas exploration and development projects. In a statement made to the House of Commons on 25 June the Energy Minister, Mr Alick Buchanan Smith, unveiled the UK's first formal onshore licensing round and announced that not a single well will
Wytch Farm EIA BP Petroleum Development Ltd have published a two volume Environmental Impact Assessment which comprised part of a series of supporting documents for their planning application to drill appraisal wells on Furzey Island (Mar. Pollut. Bull 1985, 16, 219). Volume 1 reviews the physical, biological and human environments surrounding Poole Harbour and the Isle of Perbeck. Volume 2 repeats this for Furzey Island, summarizes the proposed development and the impacts and disturbance which may result to the existing environment.
Norway's Oil Pollutionsensitivity Atlas An atlas of maps describing coastal areas sensitive to oil pollution has been produced by SINTEF and IKU in Norway. The atlas, which contains seven maps covering the coast from Finnmark to Rogaland, is the result of a 5-year project initiated by SFT (the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority) and funded by SFT and oil companies operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The environmental data contained in the atlas should enable contingency planners to take decisions on the best allocation of contingency resources in the event of an oil spill threatening Norway's coast. The features identified in the maps include types of shoreline, distribution of animal life especially sea birds and their nesting places, areas supporting recreational activities and areas of commercial interest such as fish farming. Further information can be obtained from Terje Klokk at SINTEF, N-7034 Trondheim, Norway.
Toxic Spill in the Rh6ne A spill of toxic chemicals into the Rh6ne in June has renewed French concern over the adequacy of existing industrial safety regulations. Nearly 300 t of toxic chemicals including pyrocatechine, oxadiazane and diphemilol were flushed into a canal by firehoses during a blaze at a warehouse south of Lyons. The chemicals, which were stored in the warehouse at Rousillon, were used by the French company Rh6ne-Poulenc in the manufacture of herbicides. The canal carried the chemical spill into the Rh6ne, killing fish and putting at risk supplies of drinking and irrigation water. In May the 303