Campaigners call to revoke environmental permit for Barry biomass burner

Campaigners are calling on Natural Resources Wales to revoke the environmental permit for the biomass burner in Barry.

The Barry biomass power plant, on Woodham Road, will 'gasify' wood to generate electricity for 23,000 homes, by heating the wood to high temperatures.

Builders began constructing the biomass incinerator in 2016, but the power plant has not yet begun operating fully.

The Docks Incinerator Action Group is concerned about how the power plant will impact the environment, and is calling on NRW to reverse its decision in 2018 to grant the environmental permit allowing the plant to operate.

Julia Brunskill, of the campaign group, has written an open letter to Sir David Henshaw, chair of NRW, claiming several problems with how the permit was granted.

Ms Brunskill said: "I believe laws have not been adhered to in the permitting process. NRW has been aware of these issues and have, in my opinion, ignored them.

"NRW should have been at the forefront of this battle for the protection of our health, and legally, should have been protecting people and the environment. We, as residents of Barry, expected them to do this for us and our town, and feel extremely let down."

When NRW consulted the public about the permit, over the Christmas period in 2017, Ms Brunskill claimed key documents weren't available for the public to inspect for enough time, and NRW were not planning to take into account the views of the public.

She said: "NRW were planning to disregard the consultation results completely."

When assessing how the incinerator would impact air quality, Ms Brunskill claimed NRW used out-of-date, weaker standards. She added the power plant would fall short of the new standards on air quality, introduced by the Welsh Government in June 2017.

The risk of floods is another local concern. Ms Brunskill claimed NRW used a flood risk assessment from 2009, when granting the permit — also now out of date, given how a warming climate will raise sea levels and increase the risk of flooding in coastal areas.

Other problems in the open letter highlighted were the lack of an environmental impact assessment, the type of permit given, and lack of information on whether the waste heat from the plant could be used.

Ms Brunskill said: "We're calling for the permit to be revoked until a new permit for the incinerator is in line with all legal obligations, such as the Industrial Emissions directive, Welsh Government policy, and includes an environmental impact assessment.

"NRW's remit is to protect the health and the environment of the community of Barry and Wales. Without a legal permit, the health of the community is at risk for the 20-year life span of the incinerator.

"The Barry community demands this be put right before our health and environment suffer further."

A spokesperson from Natural Resources Wales said: "We've received a letter relating to the environmental permit that we issued to Biomass UK No 2 Ltd to operate its biomass facility in Barry. We will consider the points raised and will respond to the letter in due course.

"The decision to grant the permit in 2018 followed an extensive assessment of the company's plans, and several consultations with local people and professional bodies including Public Health Wales and South Wales Fire and Rescue."