A new Welsh Government legislation to address the safety issues caused by Wales’ mining past has been introduced. The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill could see the creation of an organisation responsible for managing Wales’ disused coal and non-coal tips.
The new bill was introduced by Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Cabinet, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, in Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taf on Monday morning, December 9. The Member of Senedd has proposed to establish a disused tips authority for Wales, which will be the first of its kind in the UK.
There are 2,573 disused coal tips in Wales and it is estimated there are more than 20,000 other disused tips across the country. Each disused coal tip is categorised into different categories – R, A, B, C and D, with the latter having the “potential to impact public safety”.
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In response to the Tylorstown landslide in 2020, which saw over 60,000 tonnes of debris fall into the Rhondda Fach River, the Welsh and UK Governments set up a joint Coal Tip Safety Taskforce, which assessed the immediate status of disused coal tips in Wales. The Welsh Government also asked the Law Commission to evaluate the current legislation relating to disused coal tips.
A report concluded the current law was no longer providing an “effective” management framework for disused coal tips. The announcement on the proposed bill comes following a recent landslide in a disused coal tip in Cwmtillery in Blaenau Gwent.
Householders were helpless as coal waste and mud slid down the mountainside and engulfed the streets around their homes during Storm Bert on Sunday, November 24. The clean up operation took days before the 40 evacuated properties were allowed to return home.
Video: The Cwmtillery tip slide
Residents of Cwmtillery have spoken of their concern that the incident could happen again. You can read more about this story here. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
While Blaenau Gwent Council continues to monitor the site in Cwmtillery, the Welsh Government has said that more should be done to address safety issues with coal tips in Wales. Under current legislation there is no public body directly responsible for disused tip safety.
The 1969 Act, which came into force following the Aberfan disaster in October 1966, provides a “permissive” regime, according to the Welsh Government, where powers may be “used only where it appears to a local authority there is danger to the public due to instability”.
The bill’s announcement comes a few weeks following a landslide which damaged homes and blocked roads in Cwmtillery, Blaenau Gwent -Credit:WalesOnline/Rob Browne
According to the Welsh Government, under the current act, a local authority cannot intervene at an earlier point “on a proactive basis” to prevent risk arising. Under the new bill, an authority would become the Welsh Government’s sponsored body.
It would aim to ensure disused tips did not threaten human welfare due to instability and would also take responsibility for the assessment, registration, monitoring and management of disused tips. The authority will be operational by April 2027, according to the Welsh Government.
Under the proposed bill, the new authority will:
• Implement the new regulatory regime
• Create and maintain a register of disused tips
• Conduct preliminary assessments to ensure resources are focused on disused tips which may pose a threat to human welfare
• Conduct full assessments on disused tips where this is considered appropriate
• Identify and categorise tips which are deemed to pose a risk or could pose such a risk
• Carry out inspections, informed by tip categorisation and assessment
• Ensure necessary routine maintenance specific to each tip
• Use powers to require action or to act itself. This is supported by powers of entry, cost recovery and compensation.
According to the Welsh Government, the authority will gather information to assess all disused tips in Wales and monitor all disused tips in the register. These functions will then be supported by a right of entry to land to enable it to carry out its functions and criminal offences.
Meanwhile, there will be no change in liability under the proposed bill, with owners of a tip remaining responsible for the site and following authority guidelines. Failure to comply with the bill will be an offence, which will be punishable by a fine – in some cases an unlimited fine, with none of the offences punishable by imprisonment.
Such penalties included in the bill include penalty for obstructing monitoring activities or assessments, failure to comply with notice, obstructing operations, as well as penalties in connection with notices requiring information, penalties in connection with notices requiring information, and a penalty for obstructing entry to land.
The site in Tylorstown when the landslide took place in February 2020 -Credit:WalesOnline/Rob Browne
The bill will also take into account appeals, cost recovery and compensation. Under the proposed bill, there will be a right to appeal against a notice requiring the owner to carry out works, as well as a right to appeal against the costs of the work undertaken by the authority.
The authority will be able to recover expenses when it has undertaken work, and owners will be able to recover costs from others in certain circumstances. According to the Welsh Government, under the new bill, when the land or property is damaged, or a person’s enjoyment of land is disturbed due to undertaken operations, consequential work of reinstatement, carried out investigations to determine if operations are required, eligible persons will also be able to seek compensation.
During a visit to Tylorstown on Monday morning, Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies introduced the bill. He said: “Wales has a proud mining heritage, and it is imperative that we have a structured approach to managing disused coal and non-coal tips to ensure they are safe and not a threat to our communities.
Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, introduced the new bill on Monday, December 9 -Credit:John Myers
“In February 2020, following storms Ciara and Dennis, a series of coal tip landslides occurred in Wales, including a major landslide of a disused tip in Tylorstown. These landslides, as well as the recent incident at Cwmtillery, illustrate the potential risks and concerns that disused tips present to the people living in their shadow.
“This Bill is about keeping communities safe and is part of a wider programme of work to improve the safety of disused coal tips. I look forward to working with MSs and stakeholders on the Bill’s proposals in the coming months.”
In response to the introduction of the bill, Daniel Therkelsen, a campaigner with Coal Action Network said: “We’re clear: the new bill must be strengthened to ensure the safety of all tips into the future by incorporating preventative measures, rather than waiting until more tips become destabilised with the effects of climate change.
“Key to this is prohibiting the sale of any coal from coal tips under the guise of their remediation – the number one fossil fuel driver of climate change. And more coal mining to fix the issues of coal mining is as nonsensical as it sounds.”