Watchdog urged to take action on quarry concerns
AGENCY ABOUT ALLEGATIONS
AN MP has called on the Environment Agency to take action over residents’ concerns about two former quarry sites in Sapcote.
Alberto Costa, MP for South Leicestershire, has written to the agency because he said villagers regularly raise concerns about unauthorised draining of water and dumping of waste at the Granitethorpe and Sapcote quarries.
He recently met with the village’s county councillor, Maggie Wright, who said she is contacted several times a week by residents worried about vehicle movements at the sites and water from the quarries flooding neighbouring land.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We are continuing to work as part of a multiagency response to issues at Sapcote and Granitethorpe quarries.
“We can assure residents our officers are monitoring the sites and are continuing to investigate the alleged importation and deposit of waste and the abstraction of water.
“We will use our regulatory powers in accordance with our guidelines.”
Mr Costa said: “My constituents and I are beginning to become quite frustrated at the protracted nature of the Environment Agency’s investigations in this case and quite understandably so given they have been looking into the goings-on at Sapcote and Granitethorpe quarries since 2016.
“My constituents are seeing and reporting the alleged incidents taking place at these sites but have seen very little substantive action from the Environment Agency, a point I raised with the area director for Environment Agency East Midlands and the environment minister.”
In July last year, a formal warning was issued by the agency after an inspection revealed the rate of water being drained at Sapcote quarry was above the legal limit.
A meter was also fitted at the site to monitor the water abstraction. Further tests revealed that the quarry waters, thought to be hydrostatically linked to nearby Stoney Cove, were not polluted. Environmental incidents can be reported to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060.
MP WRITES TO ENVIRONMENT
My constituents are reporting the alleged incidents but have seen very little action
Alberto Costa