Nuclear mud legal challenge discontinued as the political fight continues

Campaigners have agreed to discontinue the legal challenge against energy giant EDF after establishing through the courts disclosure process that there was no Environmental Impact Assessment in relation to the disposal of the sediment from Hinkley Point nuclear reactor and its effect on Cardiff grounds and the Welsh marine environment.

The discontinuance motion to court was mutually agreed by all parties, with each party bearing their own costs.

It is now proven that the responsibility for the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment for the Cardiff Grounds site lies with Welsh Ministers.

The Welsh Assembly will debate and vote on the matter on the 10^th October through a cross party motion. The motion has been jointly put forward by the Plaid Cymru and Conservative Assembly Groups, with Independent AM Neil McEvoy submitting an amendment for an Environmental Impact Assessment. 

The Assembly motion has given an opportunity to stop the dumping through the Assembly, meaning campaigners no longer have to expose themselves to life changing financial costs in the court. The discontinuance motion to court was mutually agreed by all parties, with each party bearing their own costs.

Cian Ciaran, campaigner said;

 “This Labour Government has taken the Welsh people for granted and has risked the health of the nation. For me the core message of the campaign remains unchanged; the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence and therefore the precautionary principle should dictate a rethink. We will continue to seek the answers the Welsh public deserve.”

Why wasn’t the Environment (Wales ) Act 2016 upheld requiring more evidence to be gathered in respect of uncertainties? Where is the paperwork stating that Cardiff grounds is a licenced dispersal site to begin with? The dumping continues so why isn’t the Rhodri Morgan FPV out there monitoring and policing the works carried out by NNB, especially in light of the recent reports regarding license violations. These are just a few of the many questions yet to be answered. It is a duty for every Welsh Assembly Member to do right by its people and hold to account the Government that granted the licence unlawfully in the first place”

Neil McEvoy AM said,

 “This was always a David vs Goliath case. Cian took the brave decision to put his name to a legal challenge against a massive, billion pound energy giant. He’s risked everything for the safety of Wales.

“Through the case we have now established that the Welsh Labour Ministers are responsible for this whole debacle. They’ve risked the health of all of us by refusing to get the mud properly tested.

“Thanks to the cross party support of Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives, this matter will now be debated on 10^th October in the National Assembly and we are asking the Welsh public to turn out in force to ensure the dumping is stopped. 

“Labour need to know that Wales is not a dumping ground for other people’s waste and so I’m calling on everyone who reads this to write to their AM and ask them to vote to suspend the dumping licence. Some Labour AMs have expressed their concern about the dumping and we’ll see now if they have the courage to do the right thing and vote with their conscience.

“Finally as a campaign we’d like to thank everyone who has supported the campaign so far, generously giving both their time and money to the cause. That support and pressure must be sustained going forward. The politicians and policy makers must be held to account.”