Archived press release

Able UK not allowed to landfill ghost ship PCBs

11 December 2003

Research by Friends of the Earth has revealed that Able UK, the company at the centre of the `Ghost Fleet' controversy, can not legally landfill PCBs - the banned chemical contained within the former US navy vessels - at its Seaton Meadows landfill site, despite its multi-million dollar ($14m) contract with the American Government specifically requiring it to do so. The Environment Agency has confirmed this after taking legal advice in response to a letter from Friends of the Earth's lawyer last week.

To dump PCBs legally at Seaton Meadows landfill, Able UK would need a new licence. It is normally illegal for America to export PCBs - an exception was made for the Ghost Ships by the US Environment Agency on the condition of the PCBs being land-filled at Seaton Meadows in Hartlepool.

Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth Campaigns Director, said:

"The revelation that Able UK is not allowed to dispose of PCBs in their Seaton Meadows landfill is nothing short of astonishing. Surely Able UK knew what its landfill licence conditions were when it made the deal with the US Government? Surely the Environment Agency knew of those conditions when it gave the go-ahead for the ships to be exported? A public inquiry is clearly now needed to uncover the truth about who knew what as this deal went ahead and who is responsible for this sorry mess.It is hard to imagine that MARAD would have awarded this contract to Able if they had known that the company could not landfill PCBs at Seaton Meadows."

Friends of the Earth's research shows that Able UK now needs to obtain six permissions or licences before it could be in a position to scrap the Ghost Fleet ships. They are:

• A new licence for its landfill facility to allow it to deposit PCBs [1].

• Two licences from DEFRA under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985 to enable it to build a bund or dry dock in a marine environment and to dispose of dredged materials.

• Planning permission to construct a dry dock or rock-filled bund [2].

• A new or modified waste management licence for its dockyard scrapping facility [3].

• A trans-frontier waste shipment of waste permission to allow it to import the ships into the UK [4].

Able UK Chief Executive, Peter Stephenson said, in his High Court witness statement last month:

The PCB landfill revelation comes as inspections of the Environment Agency public register by Friends of the Earth revealed over 300 breaches of Able's landfill licence conditions in the last five years, of which over 50 were ranked 3 in a score of 1-3 (where 3 is worst).

Many of the breaches were associated with poor leachate management (leachate being the liquid formed as water passes through the landfill) and reports reveal Agency frustrations with Able's failure to remedy this situation. In correspondence with the Company, the Agency has expressed its particular concern because of the proximity of the site to the specially protected conservation areas of Seaton Dunes and Seaton Common. The landfill site in question has had its licence suspended on more than one occasion [7] each time in relation to the control and management of surface water and leachate at the site. From the above figures it appears that site control and compliance has improved since those suspensions, however a number of breaches in 2003 still relate to "leachate management and monitoring systems."

Notes

1. PCBs are highly toxic and can only be dumped in a landfill that is licenced to accept PCBs.

By contrast, Able UK's landfill licence for Seaton Meadows (CLE 403) specifically excludes PCBs from being deposited. The licence states that halegonated compounds (which includes PCBs) "shall not be deposited" and that "polyhalogenated biphenyls" (which includes PCBs) "are specifically excluded from deposit at the site except where they arise as part of the normal household waste stream". Friends of the Earth understands that Able Uk has applied for a new licence under the Pollution Prevention and Control regime but this has not yet been determined. For further information on PCBs see Friends of the Earth fact-sheet (PDF format).

2. Able UK continue to argue that they have the necessary planning permission in place. However, Hartlepool BC has not changed its position and continue to maintain that the information they have available to them shows that the planning permission is lapsed. Hartlepool have told Able UK that they will consider taking enforcement proceedings if Able start work on the Bund without obtaining a fresh permission.

3. On 8 December Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that the Environment Agency's decision to grant a modification to the dock waste management licence (TERRC) was unlawful and that it must be quashed. Able will need to apply for a fresh licence.

4. On 31 October the Environment Agency issued a press release stating that the company's approvals (including the TFS approval) were `invalid'. The Environment Agency also wrote to Able UK on Sunday 2 November stating that their consent to the transfrontier shipment of waste could not stand because it could no longer be said that the company had adequate technical capacity for the recovery of the waste under conditions presenting no danger to human health or the environment. Technically, it is MARAD (as the exporter) that must obtain a fresh TFS approval.

5. The Enforcement discretion letter (PDF format)

It is also part of the MARAD contract (PDF format)

Paragraph H.6 of the contract specifically incorporates the EPA enforcement discretion letter into the MARAD contract.

6. See para. 10. g and para 8.e of the Letter www.foe.co.uk/resource/evidence/epa_enforcement_discretion.pdf (PDF format)

7. Notices of suspension were served on the company 10 November 2000, 16 November 2000 and 8 February 2001.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust