Rachael
Collins - 17-Jan-2008 - Environment Agency
experts are meeting with MPs at the House
of Commons to discuss how we can work together
to protect the people and property in their
constituency from the future threat of flooding.
The meeting, arranged
before the heavy rain fell across the country
this week, will be held on Tuesday 22 January
to allow MPs to ask questions on how they
can help, what their constituents can do
to prepare for flooding and what the Environment
Agency is doing to manage the risk in the
future. Around 90 MPs are due to attend
the event.
They will hear that
it is not just those who live in the floodplain
that need to be prepared. Two-thirds of
the properties that flooded last year were
damaged because drains and sewers were overwhelmed.
As well as promoting
the useful information on the free Floodline
Warnings Direct service which gives advice
and early warning of flooding - the Environment
Agency is recommending residents have a
flood plan, including:
Check your insurance
cover
Know how to turn off your gas, electricity
and water mains supplies
Prepare a flood kit of essential items
(including a torch, a wind-up/battery radio,
first aid kit)
Know who to contact and how
Think about what you can move now dont
wait for a flood to move personal items
of value to safety
Think about what you would move to safety
during a flood
Regional director Robert
Runcie said: I am delighted to have the
opportunity to meet with the MPs face-to-face
so we can discuss the major issue of flooding
in their constituency. Flooding is a very
real threat, and will only increase with
the impacts of climate change.
We at the Environment
Agency will continue to manage the risk
of flooding for those in the floodplain,
but the MPs can help in some important ways.
This is includes having the right policies
to allow the development across the country
to be sustainable, and to benefit the environment.
They can also take
the message back to their constituents that
there are simple ways to protect their homes
finding out if they are at risk and signing
up to Floodline are the first vital steps.
+ More
Diesel spill pollutes
Devon river
Paul Gainey - 17-Jan-2008
- Diesel fuel from a pump belonging to haulage
company Parsons Nationwide Distribution
Ltd based at Aylesbeare Business Park ended
up in a tributary of the River Otter after
a lorry ruptured the tank after a collision.
The case was brought
by the Environment Agency.
Honiton Magistrates
heard that a handbrake in the lorry cab
had not been applied and the vehicle ran
forward into the pump causing fuel to spill
out on to the concrete yard and then into
the nearby watercourse before imposing a
fine of £5,000 and costs of £1,297
on the company.
The company trades from
Parsons Yard, at the head of a valley above
Aylesbeare Common, and is a particularly
environmentally sensitive site, owned and
managed by the RSPB, designated a Site of
Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area
of Conservation and a Special Protection
Area. Of particular interest, it is home
to nightjars and the Dartford warbler.
The risk of oil pollution
is of such concern, it is specifically regulated
by the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage)(England)
Regulations 2001. Precautions must be taken
by businesses that store oil to minimise
any risk of an escape into the environment
and minimise any risk of damage by impact.
On 4 April 2007, Parsons
Nationwide Distribution Ltd, stored diesel
oil in two metal tanks total volume 50,00
litres. The diesel was used for lorry fuel
and there was an associated fuel dispenser.
In the evening, a run
away articulated lorry collided with the
diesel fuel pump, demolishing the pump and
ripping out the pipe from the tank. An estimated
20,000 litres of fuel spilled from the tank
into the drainage system and then into the
Back Brook, a tributary of the River Otter.
The Environment Agency
deployed three booms and eight absorbent
pads in the water at Venn Ottery Bridge
in Newton Poppleford and at Benchams Ford
on Harpford Common.
It was agreed that the
best way to contain the oil was to build
a small dam, incorporating a form of interceptor
and this would contain the oil but allow
water to pass through. The clean-up operation
cost the company £13,000.
The magnitude of the
clean-up operation was beyond the available
resources of the Environment Agency so specialist
contractors were needed on site for three
days while they installed dams at Goosemoor
Farm and Benchams Ford. The company used
a vacuum tanker to suck oil off the surface
of the water, said Stuart Hunter for the
Environment Agency.
The process of clean
up involved deploying booms, absorbent materials,
digging a dam and interceptor. We urge all
companies to correctly store oils, chemicals
and other fluids and have staff trained
to deal with incidents such as this. They
should know where their drains flow to and
have adequate protection measures on their
drainage systems.
Parsons Nationwide Distribution
Limited, of 2 Clyst Works, Clyst Road, Topsham,
Devon, pleaded guilty to causing poisonous,
noxious or polluting matter to enter controlled
waters contrary to Section 85 (1) Water
Resources Act 1991.
