Yahoo News Giant lake forming at Ffos-y-Fran opencast site could be a risk of death
The giant lake forming in a void where coal was extracted at the Ffos y Fran opencast mining site in Merthyr Tyfil could be a risk of death, a Senedd committee heard today. MSs have launched a short inquiry into concerns about rising water levels at the former mine and whether it will ever be restored to the green land as was promised.
The chair of the climate change environment and infrastructure committee Llyr Gruffydd opened the hearing on April 24 by saying that the Welsh Local Government Association and Merthyr Tydfil council were both invited to attend in person to give evidence but both declined. Merthyr Tydfil is the lead authority responsible for the site.
Mr Gruffydd said the council had submitted a "short written statement". He also said the company that mined the site, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, had not replied to an initial offer but did then send an email the night before the committee was due to meet. In response, the committee has "extended an offer" for them to attend the next meeting on May 9.
READ MORE: Living in the noise, dust and pollution of the UK's largest open coal mine
The committee heard evidence from Carl Banton, the operations director of the Coal Authority which is one of the bodies that has a role in relation to the site. Plaid Cymru MS Delyth Jewell asked him about the safety of the body of water filling up in the void at the site where coal has been extracted.
She said: "It may be a risk to the public if the water void grows, in that if the walls of the site were to fail that it could be a risk to to the public health and risk of death?"
Mr Banton agreed saying that an assessment of safety and a hydro-geological assessment were needed to make sure that site was safe. However he said that a body of water might ultimately be part of the restoration of the site.
He said: "You would end up with a restoration proposal that would look similar to East Pit and Margam, so incorporation of a large body of water, probably slackening off some of the steep slopes, it would be a limited amount of restoration. The issue is that while the body of water continues to grow, that then could hinder the restoration plans. It is a matter of balancing the situation. The body of water would just be a large body of water. There is an element of contamination but the bigger the body grows there is more of a dilution issue so it may not be a massive pollution problem."
Ms Jewell asked whether Mr Banton if it was possible to drain the water still. He said there is a technical meeting this afternoon but there would be a "significant cost".
There are concerns about how the restoration of the site will be funded. The mining company - Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd - has said it has "insufficient funds" to carry out the original restoration plan. The local council has received £15m from the company that was paid into an escrow account held by the council as a back-up in case the company went bust. However the estimated costs are between £120m and £175m.
Mr Banton was asked by the Plaid Cymru MS Mr Gruffydd: "Why was there insufficient money set aside for restoration? Where have those millions gone?" Mr Banton replied: "I can't answer that, that would be a question for Merthyr council".
Mr Banton said: "We've known about these problems since 2016 and we've not gone much further now". He said he did not believe the situation at Ffos-y-Fran would rearise now because things have moved on in terms of both mining and planning.
The chair of the committee, Mr Gruffydd told BBC Wales it was "hugely disappointing" that neither Merthyr Council or the mining company had attended as there were "big questions to be asked" of both. The giant surface mine was given planning permission by the Welsh government in 2005, and was officially classed as a "land reclamation scheme" meaning the site had to be turned back into green hillside for the community's benefit after the coal was dug out.
However, rising water levels are causing safety concerns as local residents fear the water is a drowning risk and could also contaminate local supplies. Questions about funding the restoration of the site are continuing.
In a letter sent to the committee, Merthyr Tydfil council said it was not attending because many of the relevant staff had left "our ability to contribute evidence is limited".
The letter reads: "The Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (MTCBC) officers that dealt with the original planning applications, legal and financial agreements for the Ffos y Fran scheme have long left the authority, and as such the background knowledge, context and intricacies of the development is limited to the fairly recently gathered information gleaned by those officers currently negotiating matters on behalf of the authority. For this reason, our ability to contribute evidence is limited."
It said it had a service level agreement with Carmarthenshire council to provide their minerals planning experticse. It said: "You may wish to invite evidence from them given their breadth of knowledge and experience on the matters raised". For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.
In terms of restoring the land, the council said "restoration of the land is a condition of the planning permission". "In terms of financial arrangements, £15m to be used for restoration of the site currently sits in an escrow account".
It said that in 2016 guidance was drawn up relating to surface coal mines which "seek to reduce the opportunity for the site operator to abandon the site". However, that advice was not available in 2005 when the then National Assembly for Wales granted planning permission.
The Coal Authority wrote in its evidence: "Whilst managing the restoration and associated public safety of an open cast mine following closure is a matter for the landowner and local authority, we have and will continue to provide advice to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Welsh Government and other partners as needed".
Mining stopped in November 2023, more than a year after the planning deadline, with 115 staff made redundant.
In their evidence to the committee, the Coal Authority confirmed they visited the site on May 19, 2023, and found the operator was "coaling outside their licence boundary". An enforcement notice was issued in September 2023, and an inspection of the site in November 2023 confirmed mining had stopped.
Representatives from environmental associations are also giving evidence. In a report sent to the committee, Coal Action Network write: "The Welsh Government must step in and take responsibility for Ffos-y-fran site, which has escalated to the currently filling void as a result of its refusal to take action earlier, despite the clear evidence of MTCBC’s ongoing failure to control the situation. The Welsh Government also has a historic responsibility as the body that approved the coal mine on appeal in 2005. Once in control of the site, the Welsh Government must deliver on the 2007 restoration scheme promised to the residents of Merthyr Tydfil – anything less would amount to a betrayal after 16 years of suffering air and noise pollution from the mine."
That report also says that a 2014 report warned: "Ffos-y-fran was in danger of insufficient funds, yet this wasn’t acted upon".
