Only surface water, i.e. rainwater, will be discharged from site. Surface water runoff currently passes through interceptors and is collected in the lagoon on site. The water will be pumped along pipework laid under the access road and into a ditch at Church Road, where it will flow into the River Blackwater. A flood risk assessment has been carried out and demonstrated that the rate of flow will be lower than the natural greenfield run-off rate that existed before the area was quarried. The entire area naturally drains to the river.
Rain that falls in operational areas of the plant where it could become contaminated does not enter the drainage system. It is collected in an underground tank and will be used to quench the hot ash. No process water or contaminated water will be discharged from site.
The current EA permit amendment application includes this water discharge point. The EA does not regulate surface water discharge, but the existing permit specified that there was no discharge from site, so this is being amended. No procees water from the IWMF will be discharged from site.
No. Most of the waste will be from Essex, and some from surrounding counties. The EA permit lists the types of waste the IWMF can accept by EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code. This is a Europe-wide classification system, and does not mean the waste will come from elsewhere in Europe.