Abject Failure of Defra to Supervise Dumping

Colin Breed MP has today revealed that important documentation regarding the disposal of dredged material in Whitsand Bay was not sent by DEFRA to the Environment Agency for their consideration.

 Mr Breed, Liberal Democrat MP for South East Cornwall, today (10^th March) received a letter from Elliot Morley MP, Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment, which discussed the dredging at Rame Head, an issue which Mr Breed has been pressing the Government on for the last four years.

 Commenting Mr Breed said,

 “Once again we see a muddled account from DEFRA of the events surrounding the granting of the latest application for dumping in Whitsand Bay.  Advice from CEFAS, which lead to the licence being granted, was apparently collated by the Department’s Marine Consents & Environment Unit (MCEU) on the same date (21^st December 2004) that Mr Morley’s original letter to me was dispatched – he notes that this was ‘by coincidence’ and that ‘with hindsight, we ought, perhaps to have noted this concatenation of events.’

 “This account however does not satisfy me, and will not satisfy the many constituents who are rightly concerned about the significant environmental damage caused by the dumping in this beauty spot.

 “Furthermore Elliot Morley states that the Environment Agency ‘had no objection in principle to the proposals’ but wished to be forwarded further information by DEFRA prior to the commencement of any dredging operations –this was not done.  There is an abject failure by DEFRA to deal properly with this most important local matter and I call on the Government to cease dumping until these proper conditions have been met.”