9. 8. Statement: Oil Spill at Nantycaws, Carmarthenshire

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:42 pm on 11 October 2016.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 6:42, 11 October 2016

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.