9. What assessment has the Minister made of the consequences of the oil pipeline breach at Nantycaws? OAQ(5)0077(ERA)

Diolch. An assessment of the oil spill at Nantycaws is currently being carried out by Natural Resources Wales. This will investigate the causes of the breach, its impacts and any action for Natural Resources Wales under its powers as regulator. Until this investigation is concluded, I cannot comment further.

I attended a public meeting locally last week, and I have to say there was some disquiet among local residents in light of the absence of the Valero company, but also because of a lack of information provided by public authorities. So, can I ask the Cabinet Secretary to insist that NRW does publish the results of all the tests that they have conducted on the rivers and the ground? They should have done so by now. What monitoring work will go on in future? Could she also put pressure on the Food Standards Agency to provide the necessary information to local farmers on any possible contamination of the land and the food chain? Would it be possible to confirm what enforcement steps NRW is taking in order to ensure that all the remediation work that the company has promised, and has been requested by local people, will actually be conducted as soon as possible?

Thank you. I’ve been informed that the investigation by NRW isn’t going to be completed until the end of March, which is obviously quite a significant time away. So, I’m very happy to ask NRW to publish what they can before that time. I know that you are meeting NRW on Friday, so I’ll make sure that I do that ahead of time. I’m very concerned to hear of the public meeting last week and the disquiet amongst your constituents. Again, I will speak to NRW around that. Also, yes, I’m very happy to, and will write to the Food Standards Agency to ensure that any necessary information that the farmers need around the area of the spill, that they do get that information ASAP.

Cabinet Secretary, this was an industrial accident, it was unforeseen, it was unintended, and I also look forward to the report. I would like to commend both Valero and NRW for the very speedy way in which they dealt with this. I would like us all to reserve judgment. Valero are a very strong company in my constituency who do have an environmental record that is worth noting is extremely good. What I’m very interested to know, Cabinet Secretary, is what lessons might be learned for what else may be happening in that pipeline as it proceeds through Wales. Are there any other ways that we might be able to monitor that pipeline to ensure that the oil spill that Adam Price refers to doesn’t actually happen elsewhere?

Yes, when I attended the site of the spill—I think that was on Saturday 8 October—I met with Valero and NRW, and I was very pleased to see the way that they were working together. But, you’re quite right; at that time, the cause of the spill had not been identified, but it is really important—it's a very long pipe—it's really important that that's monitored in a way that absolutely we learn all the lessons we can to avoid that sort of spill again.