Spotlight on Chineham Newsletter - Summer 2002

Smoking Chimney? Almost, but not quite yet!

For rather obvious reasons, the arrival of Greenpeace at our beloved incinerator site was at rather short notice. Sadly, the police are now also becoming expert at removing "unwelcome" visitors.

The protestors were certainly unwelcome to Hampshire Waste's John Collis who couldn't resist the flavour of the time and described Greenpeace as "Industrial Terrorists". If they are indeed terrorists, they must be amongst the most well-mannered and considerate on earth. They went out of their way to confine their impact to only their immediate - and most Chineham residents would say - well chosen target. At no stage was there any evidence of violence or abuse towards the proper authorities and they even respected the privacy of the nearby farmland. Sad then that Hampshire Waste was so determined to prevent the band of local residents (including a large proportion of children) from demonstrating their feelings at the boundary of the construction site.

Is the HWS case so weak that it will not stand up to the vocal challenges of the local community? Slightly troubling also was the apparent ready acceptance by the police of the situation as portrayed by Hampshire Waste Services and their deployment of officers in "combat" dress as well as photographing local protestors. As there had been absolutely no hint of violent confrontation by any of the protesters, a more readily provoked crowd might have seen unnecessary confrontation in this action, resulting in bigger problems. The right to protest openly is an essential freedom. (This is a good illustration of why concern is being expressed in some quarters about the recent tendency of government to make our society more subject to restriction and snooping.)

To return to the immediate incinerator issue; the following matters are amongst those still outstanding:

• As the Environment Agency (EA) has chosen to grant HWS a license to operate the plant, can the borough council perhaps be persuaded to challenge the EA on grounds of failure to require adoption of BAT (best available technique)?
  
  
• Will Hampshire County Council step down from its high horse and allow a sensible planting regime in order to lessen the visual impact of our local monstrosity?
  Will the local liaison panel be treated with greater respect with some note being taken of concerns expressed?
  
  
• Once operational (if so) will pollution control data in its raw form be made available to the public, or will such information first be filtered "for the benefit of the public"?

If you have an internet connection, do visit the excellent Basingstoke Burner Action Campaign web site at www.bbacweb.com, to keep up to date. Also, if you have the time and commitment do contact chairman Chris Tomblin on 880558 as there will doubtless be further opportunities to lend support to the group.

Who's in Charge?
Onyx or EA (Environment Agency)

The consultant's report on behalf of Chineham Parish Council in response to the Onyx Hampshire Ltd operating permit application, makes interesting reading.

As ever, in such documents, the main body of the report is highly technical and certainly beyond interpretation by the Spotlight editor. None-the-less, the summary is deserving of serious reflection and will hopefully be given the respect it deserves by the Environment Agency; not that it is advisable to hold one's breath. Some highlights from the summary are as follows:

• "Key areas in which it is considered that the application does not represent BAT [Best Available Technique] include:  Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) is proposed in the application as the technology for reduction of oxides of nitrogen. It is demonstrated in this submission that the small additional cost of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) is justified in terms of the reduction in environmental damage.
  
  
• The proposal does not include semi-continuous monitoring of dioxins using the AMESA absorption technique. This method is now fully approved and is mandated for municipal waste incinerator in Belgium and, in some cases, in Germany. It is also proposed as part of the IPPC application for a smaller incinerator in the Isle of Man. This technique now meets the requirements of BAT and would be a substantial benefit in reassuring local residents about the actual emissions from the incinerator.
  
  
• The use of activated carbon is proposed for the capture of dioxin and similar products of incomplete combustion in flue gas. It is shown that the use of activated carbon actually increases the total dioxin production of an incinerator and that BAT is represented by catalytic bag filters such as the Gore Remedia system.
  
  
• Continuous public access to emissions data via the internet can now be made available at minimal cost and represents BAT for the dissemination of monitoring information to the public _ this should be required as a condition of any permit.
  
  
• Fly ash produced by the incinerator is special waste on account, inter alia, of the high alkalinity. The proposed disposal route is via landfill however the Landfill Directive prohibits the landfilling of corrosive wastes. This residue should therefore be treated by encapsulation or vitrification to reduce the environmental impacts of the incinerator.
  

Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council's Legal Department has been requested to consider how one might ensure that the Environment Agency fulfil its role in ensuring that best practice (BAT) is adopted at the new facility. The incinerator liaison panel and Chineham Parish Council continue to seek proper screening of the monstrosity and the latter has now asked Basingstoke and Deane to help persuade Hampshire County Council to move away from the arrogant stance of telling local residents what is best for them. The local view is that tall trees of any nature should be planted to help reduce the visual impact whilst the county council continues to insist that only native trees are acceptable, even if such will only reach a useful height by the time the incinerator will have reached the end of its anticipated working life.

HCC and EA are allegedly protecting our interests. Amazing !!

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