The final item on our agenda is the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs on the oil spill at Nantycaws in Carmarthenshire. I call on the Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths.

Diolch, Lywydd. As Members will be aware, on 4 October, Natural Resources Wales were notified of a kerosene spill from the pipeline adjacent to the A48 near Nantycaws.

In the immediate response to the incident, the fire and rescue service deployed emergency oil spill containment booms on the Nant Pibwr and Natural Resources Wales established a multi-agency co-ordination centre. Specialist clean-up contractors engaged by the operator, Valero, were on site by Tuesday afternoon to begin the work of removing the oil from the stream. According to Valero an estimated 140,000 litres had escaped from the mainline pipeline. However, more than two thirds of this has now been recovered by Valero’s specialist contractors. A series of oil spill containment booms remains in place while the oil is being removed. Valero and its contractors are undertaking the clean-up response with advice from Natural Resources Wales.

NRW is undertaking monitoring of potential environmental impacts, together with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Public Health Wales and Carmarthenshire County Council. People are of course concerned about their drinking water. An article in yesterday’s ‘Western Mail’ about the Nantycaws kerosene spill mistakenly stated that Welsh Water confirmed on Friday that there was an impact on water supplies, when it should have said that they had confirmed there was no impact on public water supplies. This was a mistake and Dŵr Cymru contacted the editor yesterday to get this corrected as soon as possible, and a correction has been printed in today’s edition of the newspaper. I understand all other relevant media outlets have been informed that this was an error on the part of the newspaper and Dŵr Cymru have also put out a message on social media in order to mitigate any unmerited levels of concern.

Four local properties of the 12 that draw water from private supplies in the immediate area as a precaution are not using their supplies for the time being. Dŵr Cymru has provided bottled water and will continue to do so on request. Dŵr Cymru has also offered to temporarily connect those properties to the public water supply network. One property has accepted this offer. The other properties have been advised to contact the Valero liaison officer who will then liaise with Dŵr Cymru on their behalf should they wish to connect.

Initial river ecological surveys have been carried out to assess the significance of localised damage to the river ecology and a fish kill assessment was also conducted. The ecological impacts appear to have been limited to a small section of the Nant Pibwr and there is no sign of significant impact downstream on the River Towy.

Work on site to monitor and remediate the potential longer term impact will continue, and a number of boreholes are to be drilled around the point of discharge to enable monitoring of the impacts on groundwater. Natural Resources Wales are providing advice on weather and hydrology and are overseeing the proposals for remediation submitted by the operator.

On Saturday I visited Nantycaws to see the ongoing work to minimise the impacts of the oil spill for myself. I met Emyr Roberts, chief executive of NRW, and his local team, and thanked NRW staff at the incident centre in Cross Hands for their work in co-ordinating the response. I also met senior representatives and contractors of the operator, Valero, to see the remedial work that they had put in place.

Whilst such an incident should, of course, be prevented in the first place, I am satisfied with the incident response and handling. The speed of the response has contained the spread of the kerosene and avoided wider impacts. I am receiving regular updates on the situation and will continue to monitor its progress.

In order for Valero to replace the fractured pipeline, the A48 will unfortunately need to be closed in both directions from the evening of 14 October to early Monday 17 October. All traffic will be diverted along the official diversion route through Llangunnor. Whilst I acknowledge this will cause inconvenience for people and businesses in west Wales, the weekend closure should minimise the impact on the travelling public and allow a speedy completion of the necessary works to restore the pipeline and seal the affected section.

Once the incident is concluded, the Health and Safety Executive and NRW, as the relevant regulators, will investigate the cause of the pipeline breach and the pollution incident respectively, and will take appropriate action under their powers.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon, and also for the telephone conversation that we had early on Friday morning and her willingness to visit the area on Saturday afternoon. She mentioned that she was content with the speed of the response, but may I ask for a little more information about the timetable? When exactly was NRW informed by the company of the reduction in pressure in the pipeline? When did NRW staff visit the site on the first occasion? When did they decide that the spill was more serious? When was the pipeline closed? And when did the remaining oil in the pipeline cease to leak further?

The isolation valves were closed, according to the information that I have, in the Llandeilo and Llangain areas. Can the Cabinet Secretary explain why the valve that is apparently closer to the area of Nantgaredig was not closed, which could have perhaps prevented tens of thousands of litres of oil from being leaked?

Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that we need a full inquiry into the cause of this unfortunate incident? Can she also confirm that NRW’s powers include the right to bring prosecutions if there is evidence of malpractice? When, for example, was the last time that this pipeline was inspected? And, of course, this company is a company with an income of £4 billion per annum, so can we be given an assurance that it will pay compensation to local residents and farmers affected by this?

Has the pipeline been registered under the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996, and if not, why?

Ac yn olaf, o ran mater yr A48, bydd hi’n gwerthfawrogi a chyfeiriwyd at hyn eisoes, wrth gwrs, yr effaith y bydd hyn yn ei chael yn lleol ar drigolion sydd eisoes yn gorfod ymdopi, nos Wener, er enghraifft, â chau’r ffordd i un cyfeiriad—effaith ddifrifol. A ystyriwyd yr holl ddewisiadau eraill yn y fan yma o ran y gwaith adfer sydd angen ei wneud ar y biblinell? Rydym wedi clywed, er enghraifft, na fydd y gwaith yn cael ei wneud dydd a nos. Does bosib na ddylem ni ystyried hynny cyn cau yr hyn sydd, wedi'r cyfan, yn brif wythïen i’r gorllewin cyfan i’r ddau gyfeiriad. Felly, a yw hi'n fodlon bod yr holl ddewisiadau eraill wedi eu hystyried, ac a wnaiff hi gadarnhau bod o leiaf un o'r asiantaethau perthnasol wedi gwrthwynebu'r cynnig mewn gwirionedd i gau'r ffordd i’r ddau gyfeiriad pan gafodd hynny ei gynnig iddynt i ddechrau?

Diolch, Adam Price, for those questions. In relation to the timeline, I can inform Members that, last Tuesday—so, 4 October—the first phone call received by NRW from Valero was at 10:46 when Valero said that they were self-reporting damage to a kerosene pipeline and where the location was. The quantity of discharge at that time was unknown, and they had approved contractors being—. They were using approved contractors to investigate and process a repair and clean-up. At 11 a.m., so very quickly after, Valero called back NRW and confirmed there had been a leak, but they were unsure if any oil—. They didn't think any oil had reached a watercourse, but they had called the contractors in case. NRW officers then did visit the site on their own—. You know, they wanted to see for themselves, so they then visited the site. So, as I said, I was very content with the response and I think NRW have co-ordinated the response in a very professional way.

In relation to the questions regarding the valves, I have been told that the valves were switched off, as you say, to contain the oil that was in the pipe. You asked about compensation to the local residents, and I think this is an issue that I can't really comment on at the moment. I mentioned that Natural Resources Wales and HSE will be able to investigate the cause of the breach, once the incident is concluded. They will take the appropriate action under their powers, and I don't really think it would be right for me to comment further ahead of that work being undertaken. And I think we need to wait until all the investigations are done.

Regarding the impact of the planned A48 road closures, Members will appreciate, Presiding Officer, that this is really a matter for my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, but, obviously, he's not here today. So, I'm able to respond to certain concerns and, you know, I want Members to realise this decision was not taken lightly and to have the road both ways closed over the weekend I know will cause inconvenience, but I think, because it is a weekend, that should minimise the impact on the travelling public and allow a speedy completion of the necessary works to restore the pipeline and seal the affected section.

Cabinet Secretary, I have spoken with a senior spokesperson from Valero regarding the kerosene spillage in Nantycaws, and I was assured, because I asked very much the same questions that have already been asked to you, that immediately upon realising that there was a pressure drop within that pipe—because that's how they knew—they notified NRW and other agencies therein. And I think it's only right and fair at this point, before I move on, to recognise the hard work that has been done by those staff—continually done by the staff—outside their normal working hours so that they can do their best to protect the public from all the other issues that I think were fairly stated by Adam Price. And I think it's also fair to mention the emergency services, because the fire authority also turned up and responded as quickly and efficiently as they could. So, I want to put those things on the record.

I did drive through here, actually, on Sunday, and I have to tell you that it was a three-quarter-of-an-hour journey from one end of Carmarthen to getting up the other end, and that was on a Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. So, you know, it is probably wise to say that, whilst it might be on a weekend, nonetheless, there will be significant inconvenience. I probably unwisely chose to travel at 4 o’clock, not thinking, because I wasn’t shopping, that maybe the shops were closing at the same time, so I suppose it’s fair to add that. But, nonetheless, that’s how long it took me to go from one end of Carmarthen to get back onto the A48.

So, anyway, moving on, I understand that there were four sites of pollution and that now a total of three of those have been cleared, but one is still being recovered. I did ask the question, of course, about downstream and any effect on the Towy and was assured, at this point, that that is an unlikely situation. Nonetheless, while that is the case, and I recognise that people might be impacted for a few days by having to go around the road, what I’m really concerned about is that impact on that watercourse and how we intend to monitor any effects within that watercourse that have happened—it has destroyed it, let’s be clear: if you poison a river, you have destroyed it—and how it is going to be monitored and brought back to life.

I was elected just after the Sea Empress; I know how devastating these things are, and I’m not suggesting that this is on that scale at all. I will thank, however, Valero for being honest when I asked questions and also, as far as I know, they’ve been on site and they’ve apologised profusely for the pollution, which was unmistakeable, because I smelled it myself on Sunday, in the air. At the moment, as far as I’m led to believe and others are led to believe, the fumes were not toxic. But some families did choose to move from there.

So, I think, at this stage, what could be done perhaps has been done, but, in moving forward, I think what is important for me to know, as somebody representing that area, is that the monitoring of that site will be diligent, will be long term, and will be reported back to us.

Thank you, Joyce Watson, for those questions. I’m very pleased you have met with Valero and I should have said that both Valero and NRW are very happy to meet any Assembly Member to discuss this matter. You’re quite right, we should also take the opportunity to thank the emergency services for their attendance.

In relation to the A48, I did say I do accept there will be inconvenience, but my colleague Ken Skates’s department wanted to avoid half-term week. It’s about minimising the impact, but of course there’s no good time. As I say, we didn’t take the decision lightly and we’re very sorry that we’ve had to do it and we’re very disappointed that we’ve had to take this course of action, but I do think Members will agree it’s the only way forward.

I was very pleased also that a hotline was set up by Valero, and NRW obviously have one, and I know there had been some calls. I was told there had been two calls, even on the Friday, from local houses and these residents have been visited straight away, because I think it’s really important and it’s absolutely a priority for me that people’s concerns are addressed, particularly in relation to public health.

I mentioned that 140,000 litres is the figure that we’ve been given by Valero in relation to the spill. And today I’ve been told—today’s update is that 100,000 litres have been recovered, which I think is a significant amount. In relation to monitoring, NRW have had officers out monitoring the river daily. They’ve carried out an ecological assessment and a fish carcase count, which I understand remains at 100. The company involved have specialist contractors assessing the impact on land. They’re liaising with NRW’s geoscience team and I know NRW are chairing the tactical technical group, where all interested partner agencies and Valero are focusing on mitigating the impact of the oil spill. But, you’re right, this is long term, and I want to give Members assurance that I am monitoring this very carefully. I’m receiving several updates a day and I, of course, am very happy to report back to Members.

Minister, thank you very much for your statement today. I think that your response and the response from Valero have been entirely reasonable, given the circumstances—no-one wanted this to happen, no-one expected it to happen, and it is very, very unfortunate, to say the least.

I think that Adam Price raised some excellent points in the comments and I’d like to actually align myself with them. Although I would add that I believe that any investigation should be conducted by the statutory bodies and any penalties coming forward should also be as a result of those investigations by the statutory bodies. I don’t think it’s incumbent upon any of us to second-guess either what happened or to lay out what we think any punishment should be.

I do have one concern, though: in your letter of 7 October, you referred to the fact that this pipeline is 12m below ground and that you cannot be sure of the condition of the pipe or of the cause of the leak. I’ve also been discussing this with Valero, who—and I agree with Joyce Watson—have been very straight about it all and said it as they see it, and they don’t know either. So, have you got any contingency plan in place in case the A48 has to be closed for longer than the weekend? Because, when they finally dig down to get to it, I understand they’re going to go in from the side and knock through the tarmac, but if it actually turns out to be worse and they’re going to have to take the road up in order to do whatever it is they need to do—so, really, do we have a contingency plan in place in case this closure is going to go for much longer than anticipated?

I would also like to ask if you would liaise with your colleague, Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for business, to talk to him about whether or not we can hasten the entire issue of the A48. My concern is that the weekend after next is the beginning of half-term. As Joyce Watson said, that road is absolutely packed. We’ve got the tourists coming down; it’s vitally important that that artery is opened up for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. I don’t think there are any further points west of that, but we really do need to make sure that tourists can come—it’s a vital part of our industry. So, would you please give me your view on whether or not you think that we could try to persuade 24/7 working to be put in place to get that road fixed as soon as possible?

Finally, I’d like to say how impressed I was by the way the silver command response team swung into action and how all the organisations came together, and, on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives, I’d like you to express our thanks to them because they have really proven that this is what the emergency services are all about and they’ve done exceptionally well under the circumstances.

For information, Ceredigion is west of Carmarthen.

I beg your pardon, Presiding Officer, but not west of Pembrokeshire. [Laughter.]

Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank Angela Burns for those comments and certainly the ones around the silver command team. You’re absolutely right: it was very good to see just how well NRW did co-ordinate that multi-agency response and silver command has met on a daily basis and I’ve received an update from them.

I’m very happy to talk to Ken Skates’s officials in his absence. As I mentioned—I think it was in my response to Joyce Watson—we’re very aware that the weekend after next is the start of half-term and that’s why we have chosen this weekend. I’m sure the Member will be aware that one side of the A48 had been planned for closure while Valero had worked on that pipe.

In relation to the fact that it’s 12m down, as you said, the main pipeline that the leak reported from has been switched off and there’s now very little oil being collected in the stream, which we hope means that it’s not leaking. Unfortunately, Valero can’t reach the damaged pipe because it’s been sealed off by the Health and Safety Executive. So, Valero are going to build a new pipe alongside the pipe and reconnect it, when HSE say that’s the case, and then they’ll be able to look at the old pipe. So, I think it is important that we have those conversations with officials to make sure that we do cover all eventualities along the road. But, as I say, Members will appreciate that this work has to be done and I’m hoping that it can be done over those four days.

In relation to the 24/7 working, as I say I will speak to the Cabinet Secretary’s officials.

And, finally, Simon Thomas.

Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement and just ask a few questions following what has been discussed this afternoon? First of all, I understand that there isn’t yet an explanation or a reason for this particular incident, but it’s still a serious pollution event on this land, one of the most serious that we’ve had in the past few years. Now, local people will certainly be asking whether there is a link between this incident, the kerosene spillage, and the fact that the pipe was being worked on in general terms. So what kind of statement can the Cabinet Secretary make in terms of an inquiry at this time to ensure that the work that’s being done on the pipe in other areas isn’t going to lead to a similar incident again, and what kind of work is happening in that context?

The second question I have is about the impact on the environment. I understand that the kerosene hasn’t reached the River Towy, and I hope that that doesn’t happen, but there has been a serious effect on Nant Pibwr itself, and everyone will, perhaps, have seen the images of the dead fish, which suggest that they died in the stream because of the pollution. Will there now be steps taken by NRW—paid for by the company, hopefully—to restore the stream and to ensure that there is a restocking of fish in the stream to ensure that it does come back to life, as it were, so that it is alive again? And the final point is that the Cabinet Secretary will be aware that this pipe goes through the majority of the region that I represent. On the way to the midlands, it runs through the south of mid Wales, through many isolated areas. What kind of discussions is she having, or is NRW having, with Valero at present to ensure that there is an inquiry and assurance given for the rest of the pipe to ensure—we can’t make it 100 per cent sure, but to try and make sure that there isn’t another vulnerability in this very long pipe?

I thank Simon Thomas for his questions. I’ve already said that I think we cannot speculate as to the cause of it. Once the incident has been concluded, which I hope will be very soon, that’s the time, then, for NRW and HSE to carry out a full investigation. I would like to assure Members that I did ask NRW if, at the current time, they felt they had additional resources to manage this incident and they assured me that they had.

In relation to the pipe, you’re right, it does carry fuel, oil, to the midlands, to Manchester and also to Heathrow. So, those are discussions that I’ve had and I’ve been reassured in relation to the issues that the Member raised.

Again, the impact on the environment: we very much hope it won’t reach the River Towy and, as I said, the amount of oil that’s being collected is diminishing now, which I think can be—it’s a very positive thing, going forward. And, again, in the long term, it’s, again, too early to talk about that, but, obviously, those are discussions I will be having with NRW.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary. That brings today’s proceedings to a close.

The meeting ended at 18:43.