Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 14 October 2020.
Thank you. Many concerns have been raised with me across Wales generally in terms of intensive poultry units—not so much about them being there, but how they're actually regulated and monitored. Now, there are around 8.5 million chickens on permitted units in Powys. Around 77,000 people have signed a change.org petition 'Save the River Wye!' and they're demanding a moratorium on all new poultry units in Powys. Their wish is for a moratorium to be in place until the full environmental and community impacts of existing units are assessed. So, I do welcome the fact that NRW is carrying out a detailed review of data to better understand the cause of the increased algal blooms in the River Wye. Now, according to the Wye and Usk Foundation, NRW stated in a public meeting last week that they expect the review to show that the upper Wye has been exceeding its permitted phosphate levels for at least the last four years. So, should what NRW advised be correct, what urgent steps will you take to tackle the level of phosphates in the river, and will those measures include a temporary moratorium?