Will the Cabinet Secretary provide a list of what maintenance work local authorities, Welsh Water, Natural Resources Wales, and others are expected to conduct when issues are discovered following coal tip inspections by the Coal Authority?
Under Welsh Government’s established coal tip inspection and maintenance regime, all Category D tips are inspected twice per year and all Category C tips are inspected once per year. The Coal Authority have also begun the process of inspecting the remaining Category B and below tips.
Following each inspection, the Coal Authority produces an inspection report which includes any recommended maintenance works to be undertaken as necessary. Inspection reports are issued to local authorities and NRW, and to other tip owners as required. This maintenance work includes, but is not limited to:
- The clearance, reinstatement and repair to drainage infrastructure, including:
- Channels;
- Ditches;
- Intake structures;
- Culverts
- Desilting of lagoons and ponds;
- Removal of vegetation;
- Repair and reconstruction of retaining structures;
- Installation, repair and upgrading of fencing and signage;
- Reinstatement and remediation of erosion features;
- Re-grading and re-profiling of slopes;
- Installation, reinstatement and upgrading of access paths and tracks;
- The investigation and surveying of safety critical infrastructure.
Welsh Government funding is made available to local authorities and NRW through the Coal Tip Safety Grant Scheme for maintenance works on publicly and privately owned tips.
It is worth noting that the recent round of winter inspections concluded in February and no major issues were reported.