Work to manage landfill gas emissions which have impacted communities surrounding Withyhedge Landfill must continue with pace, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said on Friday (Jul 19) as it confirmed that the requirements set out in recent Enforcement Notices served on the site have been met.

NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with two separate Regulation 36 Enforcement Notices on 13 February 2024 and 18 April 2024, setting out urgent steps to be taken by the operator to address the odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

The Notices included a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines. These included the capping of areas of the site, and the installation of infrastructure designed to collect and contain landfill gas at two separate areas of the site.

NRW has now received and reviewed reports relating to the engineering works carried out by the operator to ensure they have been completed to the required standard.

While these assessments confirm that the Notice requirements have been met, NRW recognises that odours have continued to be reported and detected in communities surrounding the landfill beyond the deadlines set for the works. This is due, in part to the time it takes for the engineering work to become fully operational and effective.

Following NRW’s detailed audit of the system which collects and treats landfill gas at the site, several areas of concern have been identified. These have been outlined in detail with the operator’s Directors, site management and RML’s specialist landfill consultant. The operator is now working on addressing the issues.

While there has been a significant reduction in the number of odour complaints over recent weeks, any fugitive emissions of landfill gas can cause off-site odours. The focus of NRW’s continued regulatory presence on site will be to ensure RML continues to drive the improvements needed to the system with pace, and to ensure they demonstrate that they are effectively managing the landfill gas from their operations.

NRW is also continuing its investigations at the site. Only when that process is completed can we determine if charges should be brought for any offence relating to breaches of their environmental permit conditions.

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations at Natural Resources Wales said: “Carrying out all the assessments required to determine compliance with an Enforcement Notice takes time. Landfills are dynamic entities and we needed to be sure that we had all the evidence and data required to ensure we could be satisfied that the operator had met the requirements set out in the Notice to improve the containment and collection of landfill gases at the site.

“However, compliance with this Notice does not mean that the job is done. While the number of reports of odour has decreased significantly over recent weeks, we know that there are issues with the gas management system at the site which the operator must address. This has been the focus of our regulatory work in recent weeks, and this will continue over the coming days and weeks.

“We still have a range of enforcement options available to us under the regulations, and we will not hesitate to use them if required. The site remains under investigation, and we continue to press the operator to continue to work at pace and demonstrate that they are effectively managing landfill gas emissions at Withyhedge landfill.”

Local campaigner, Colin Barnett, who heads the Stop the Stink campaign said: “It is disappointing though that it is NRW who have publicly set deadlines for the cessation of the toxic gas from this site, and now they are telling us it takes time for any improvement to be effective… ‘how long is a piece of string’ comes to mind.”

Preseli Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Paul Davies has responded to Natural Resources Wales (NRW)’s latest update on Withyhedge landfill site, calling for the site to be closed down.

Mr Davies said: “Whilst RML may have now complied with the latest Enforcement Notices, the fact remains that people are continuing to suffer because of this operator and I believe it’s vital that the site is closed down. NRW has made it clear that further investigations are still taking place and the operator could still face charges relating to breaches of their environmental permit conditions.”

“Make no mistake, this is far from over and it’s even more important now that there is an independent public inquiry into the management of the Withyhedge landfill site, so that the community can get the answers it deserves and the operator can be held accountable for their actions.”