Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 11th May, it had agreed to hold a special meeting to discuss the issue of exploratory drilling at Woodburn Forest. 

            The Committee considered a report from the Head of Environmental Health, during which the Chairperson reminded the Committee that NI Water, Stop the Drill and InfraStrata had been invited to attend the meeting but that InfraStrata had not responded.

            She advised the Members that Ms. Majella McCarron and Ms. Fiona Joyce from the Stop the Drill campaign group were in attendance and they were welcomed to the meeting by the Committee.

            The representatives from Stop the Drill explained to the Committee that they were campaigning to protect the water catchment area in the Woodburn Forest and the nearby North Woodburn Reservoir.  Ms. McCarron provided the Committee with an overview of where, in their opinion, various public and private agencies had acted wrongly, or failed to act, in relation to the recent drilling which had taken place at Woodburn Forest by InfraStrata.

            Ms. McCarron outlined to the Committee that NI Water had no in-house oil and gas experts and that it was Stop the Drill’s understanding that NI Water had signed an Exploration Agreement with InfraStrata having considered a paper entitled ‘SE Antrim Exploration - Information to inform NI Water Business Case’ which had been written by RPS, InfraStrata’s agent.  She stated that no independent investigations had been commissioned by NI Water and that, in their view, this decision was fundamentally flawed.  She also outlined that obligatory methane testing had to take place on the site before any work could take place, and that RPS had carried out that testing also. 

            Ms. Joyce suggested to the Members that the Exploration Agreement between NI Water and InfraStrata was contrary to the Belfast Water Act 1899 in relation to the prevention of polluting the public water supply and of leasing the lands.  She also alleged that the groundwater was at risk from the chemicals being used on the site and made particular reference to ‘Biocide T’, which she stated was designated as hazardous under Groundwater Regulations (NI) 2009.

            During their presentation, the representatives from Stop the Drill outlined the following points to the Committee for its consideration:

·        after acknowledging the risks to the groundwater, RPS/InfraStrata had told NI Water that the site would be ‘zero discharge’, without NI Water obtaining any independent verification and this was a dereliction of duty by NI Water;

·        the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) Natural Heritage and the former Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) had stated that the Woodburn drilling site would drain into the North Woodburn Reservoir;

·        NI Water had a public duty to carry out independent baseline testing on-site before the drilling began, but did not;

·        a conflict of interest existed, as NI Water was both the landlord for the site as well as the public body in charge of safeguarding drinking water;

·        Infrastrata was on site before the Waste Management Plan had been approved by the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council;

·        an oil spillage had occurred in March 2016, which NI Water had denied;

·        there were springs feeding into the Dorisland catchment area, contrary to what NI Water had stated;

·        InfraStrata drilled through two, unexpected, ‘water wet’ areas which could mean that chemicals which had been pumped into the site could contaminate interconnecting springs over the next 100 years;

·        if flashflooding occurred before the site was fully restored, it could lead to a major contamination incident;

·        the Minister for Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) had stated that she was unable to allow the campaigners to monitor the site during restoration;

·        a whistleblower had advised that NI Water would receive £10,000 per annum for the leasing of the site;

·        Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, when considering the application for permitted development rights or the Waste Management Plan, declined to hear from Stop the Drill and did not consider an independent report from Burrows;

·        Stop the Drill had asked NI Water and NIEA to monitor specific chemicals which were used during drilling, specifically Biocide T, to which they had refused;

·        there was uncertainty as to the final destination for the waste from the site, after it had been moved to Irish Waste in Duncrue Street;

·        the company carrying out the restoration works at the site was under investigation by the NIEA for ‘dumping waste from its public realm scheme works at unauthorised sites’; and

·        Stop the Drill had accused NI Water of committing malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance in public office.

            In response to a Member’s question regarding what should happen now that the drilling had concluded, the representatives outlined that they believed NI Water should allow independent monitors to enter the site, in order that the restoration of the site could be observed independently.  Ms. McCarron stated that they would like to see the site monitored at least until the contractors had left the site completely, which would be until 7th August, 2016 at the earliest.

            In response to a further Member’s question regarding the policing of the site, Ms. Joyce stated that they had compiled a substantial document from February to June 2016, particularly in relation to the restrictions and blocks to the access paths, and they would submit this for the Committee’s attention.      

            After discussion, the Committee agreed that the Stop the Drill representatives would provide the Committee with the following evidence, for its consideration:

·        details on the oil spillage from March, 2016;

·        the Project documentation which stated that Biocide T was hazardous; and

·        the document on the policing of the site, from February to June 2016.

            The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.