Last month, it was brought to my attention that Opes MRF 2013 Ltd had been sold and an entirely new management team brought in. I was informed that the new team had submitted an action plan, at the request of the Environment Agency, which outlined the steps they would take to return the site to compliance. The site's poor compliance history has caused an unacceptable level of malodour for residents. I have made it exceptionally clear that the new management must be held accountable for their promises.
I recently wrote to the EA to request an update on this and received the following response:
I can confirm that a Compliance Action Plan was submitted to our local regulatory team on 31 August 2021. The purpose of the action plan was for the operator to clearly set out what steps they would take to return the site to full compliance with its Environmental Permit. Our local team have already reviewed this proposed plan and responded to the operator to ask for additional information. A revised plan is to be submitted by the end of September 2021.
It is our intention to transpose some, or all, of the actions proposed by the operator into an Enforcement Notice. Compliance with the steps detailed in the Notice will be closely monitored by our regulatory team. What we do next will be dependent on how well the operator complies with the Notice requirements and that could include revocation or a closure Notice. We anticipate that some of the steps, such as changes to leachate management may take until early 2022 to complete, however more urgent matters such as odour control, are expected to have shorter deadlines in recognition of the impact this issue is having.
Since the change in personnel several improvements have already been actioned on site and we are seeing a marked improvement in engagement from the operator. Whilst we are awaiting the updated action plan, the operator is continuing to work on the required improvements.
Whilst we are pleased with the improvements we have seen at the site since early August we share your constituents feeling that the company should be held accountable for their poor compliance record. To that end, we are continuing with our investigations into earlier failings with a view to taking appropriate enforcement action.
