The Environment Agency have sent me the following update about the ongoing situation at the Finmere Landfill Facility:
March saw an increase in report numbers compared to February but remained lower than those of January and the preceding months. Environment Agency officers attended the local area on 25 March to undertake odour checks and were able to substantiate minor and localised malodours associated with the landfill activities.
Work on the placement of the engineered plastic cap on Cell 10 has progressed steadily with areas on the northern and western flanks now permanently capped, and parts of the southern flank now temporarily capped. Whilst capping works now appear largely completed when viewed from the public highway this is not the case. Work is ongoing and until the capping works is fully complete, and the gas collection infrastructure is fully connected and balanced, cell 10 will continue to be a potential source for off-site malodours.
The Environment Agency will continue to complete off-site odour checks and site inspections to monitor permit compliance and the progress of capping works on Cell 10. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are pushing to ensure capping works progress at pace, and suitable operational plans are in place to prevent a reoccurrence of the problems experienced to date.
It remains important that you report the odours to us via our incident hotline - 0800 807060. Our own inspections and odour checks only provide a snapshot of the impact this issue is having, your calls ensure we have an accurate record of the extent of the problem and help us target our investigations.
