Paul Gainey - 27-Nov-2008
- The Environment Agency is returning its
redundant Wheal Jane pilot treatment plant
to nature in a special four month long project
in the Carnon Valley, near Truro in Cornwall
The site was built in the 11000’s to trial
and study passive treatment of minewater
from the Wheal Jane tin mine. However, the
minewater is now actively treated and the
pilot plant is no longer required.
Now the Environment
Agency’s operations delivery team and its
contractor will demolish the concrete structures,
remove the sludge, enhance the existing
reedbed wetland habitat and improve recreational
access through the site for walkers, cyclists
and horse riders.
‘‘By restoring the pilot
plant we are fulfilling our original planning
permission requirements and it is a great
opportunity to enhance the wildlife and
recreational amenity in the valley. We have
listened to local feedback and will not
be doing anything to adversely alter the
character of this historic mining area,’
explained Kevin Barnes, the Environment
Agency’s project manager.
‘Our aim is to make
the restoration as waste neutral as possible,
for example we will be crushing the concrete
structures on-site and using them, along
with other recycled materials to form the
new path. We will be taking out the old
reed beds and recreating over 5000 cubic
metres of wetland, this is especially important
habitat for the scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly
and many other species.
‘And by providing a
drier, alternative route for the Mineral
Tramways Trail, access for the public will
be better and give people the opportunity
to appreciate the newly created wetlands.’
Car parking at Grenna
Lane will be improved and increased as part
of the
£250,000 project,
which will start next week and will continue
until early April 2009.
The control building
and Devoran gauging station will remain
and alternative uses sought for them.
‘While the work is being
done Mineral Tramways Trail users should
be aware of heavy lorries and vehicles using
the trail. We apologise for any inconvenience
while we complete this project,’ said Mr
Barnes.
+ More
Environment Agency Chairman
calls for 'Green New Deal' to create jobs
and investment
National press office
- 24-Nov-2008 - ‘Environment as vital to
future society as education, health, economy’
- The Environment Agency’s Chairman, Lord
Chris Smith, today urged the Government
to follow Barack Obama’s example and launch
a ‘Green New Deal’ for the UK economy to
drive investment in clean energy and create
jobs.
He called on the Government
to produce a comprehensive long-term strategy
for investing in renewable energy, environmental
technology, energy efficiency and carbon
capture and storage. He said it was essential
if the Government is to meet its target
of an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions
by 2050.
And he claimed that
the long term future of society now depends
on the Government’s commitments to the environment
as much as it does to education, health
and the economy.
Lord Chris Smith urged
the Chancellor to invest in green capital
projects and schemes to mitigate the recession
and climate change. And he encouraged more
public sector organisations to take advantage
of the Partnership for Renewables initiative
to site renewable energy sources on their
buildings or land. The Environment Agency
today announced plans to site up to 80 wind
turbines on its land - enough to generate
electricity for 90,000 households.
Lord Chris Smith outlined
the key elements of delivering a ‘Green
New Deal’ programme. They include:
Development of Carbon
Capture and Storage for coal-fired power
stations - initially in demonstration projects,
but thereafter on a wider scale
More incentives for energy efficiency in
homes and businesses
Greater use of combined heat and power
Removal of disincentives from development
of anaerobic digestion and other sustainable
biomass projects
Feed-in tariffs and grants to help householders
to develop sustainable energy
A major national programme for power generation
through wind, solar and tidal sources
Continuing development of work (especially
on rivers and coasts) to protect from, and
adapt to, the impact of climate change
The Environment Agency’s national conference
also includes keynote speeches by Ed Miliband,
Hilary Benn and Boris Johnson.
Lord Chris Smith said:
"We need a Green
New Deal to meet our carbon emissions targets
and create jobs in renewable energy and
green technology. We need an ambitious and
coherent strategy for the future, which
is matched by investment by Government to
kick-start key projects.
"We are facing
a recession and there will be pressure to
weaken environmental targets. I hope the
Government will hold its nerve and deliver
a far-reaching programme that looks further
than the current crisis to deliver on our
2050 targets."
+ More
Rare fish discovered
in Fal estuary as Agency steps up its monitoring
of marine environment
Paul Gainey -
27-Nov-2008 - The sea has given up another
of its secrets with the surprise discovery
of a rare fish – the Couch’s Goby – in Cornwall’s
Fal estuary.
Agency scientists were astonished to catch
22 Couch’s Gobies during a recent sampling
trip in Carrick Roads on the Fal. At only
a few centimetres long, the Couch’s Goby
spends most of its time hidden under stones
and seaweed in sheltered inshore waters.
It has never been recorded on the Fal before
and has only ever been found at four other
locations in the British Isles.
The Couch’s Goby is intolerant of heavy
metals so its discovery in the Fal is encouraging
as it indicates good water quality. The
species is protected under the Wildlife
and Countryside Act 1981.
The fish were caught during monitoring carried
out by the Agency under the European Water
Framework Directive. Sampling involves towing
a small net behind a boat to collect fish
that are identified and then returned to
the sea unharmed.
At first scientists weren’t sure if they
had correctly identified the fish and turned
to Goby ‘guru’, Dr Peter Miller, formally
of the University of Bristol who after close
scrutiny of photographs confirmed it as
a Couch’s Goby. Identification is difficult
because individual goby species are very
similar in appearance and only an expert
can tell them apart.
‘Catching a single Couch’s Goby would have
been a surprise, so when 22 turned up in
our nets we couldn’t believe our eyes! The
discovery of such a rare and unusual fish
is very encouraging and shows how the additional
sampling we’re doing under Water Framework
Directive is increasing our awareness and
understanding of the marine environment
around Cornwall,’ said Rob Hillman for the
Environment Agency, who has more reason
than most to celebrate this latest piscatorial
discovery.
Rob was ‘rock pooling’ in the Turnaware
Bar area of the Fal earlier this year when
he saw what he thought was a Couch’s Goby.
He took several photographs of the fish
and had his suspicions confirmed by the
recent discovery of the species in Carrick
Roads.
The species is named after the 19thCentury
Cornish naturalist Jonathan Couch, a scientist
and fish illustrator whose major works included
‘A History of the Fishes of the British
Isles.’ Earlier this year Environment Agency
officers discovered a Couch’s Bream in an
illegal fishing net off Drake’s Island,
Plymouth – another species named after the
Duchy naturalist.
The only other places where it has been
found are Portland Bill, the Helford Estuary
and two sites in County Cork and County
Donegal. The Agency is sharing details of
the discovery with the National Marine Aquarium
at Plymouth and Natural History Museum.
A photo of the Couch’s Goby in available
from the Agency’s press office on 01392
442008.
