Minutes:
The Chairperson advised the Members that Mr. Sean McAleese, Mr. Maynard Cousley and Ms. Alison McMullan from NI Water were in attendance and they were welcomed by the Chairperson to the meeting.
Mr. McAleese advised the Members that the security and safety of the public water supply was NI Water’s top priority and that it would not carry out, or permit, any activity which would jeopardise the quality of the water delivered to its customers.
He explained to the Committee that initial testing had indicated that there could have been potentially 25 to 40million barrels of oil in the Woodburn Forest area and he highlighted the impact that this would have had on the local economy. The Members were advised that exploratory drilling was required to check the future viability of the site.
Mr. Cousley advised the Members that NI Water owned approximately 60% of the total land which fed into the Dorisland/Woodburn impounding reservoirs. He advised the Members that the majority of that land was leased to the Forest Service or local farmers for grazing, but that any farming practices taking place on the land were controlled by NI Water to ensure that there was no residual risk to the drinking water supply. He highlighted to the Committee that, with cars and farming vehicles driving through the area, a day to day risk already existed for oil to potentially enter the water stream.
Ms. McMullan explained the Drinking Water Safety Plans which NI Water used for the entire water supply throughout Northern Ireland. She provided the Members with the risk matrix which was used, explained how each risk was analysed and minimised, and highlighted that the practices were based on World Health Organisation guidance and requirements from the Drinking Water Regulations. She detailed all the risks which had been identified for the Dorisland Water Treatment Works and the actions which had been taken to mitigate those risks.
Mr. McAleese advised the Committee of the Drinking Water Quality Monitoring process, which ensured that over 200,000 samples of water were tested each year. The Committee was advised also that samples of raw water were tested every week, that final water quality was monitored 24/7 at the Water Treatment Works and that samples of the final water were taken and tested on a daily basis.
In response to a number of points which had been raised by the Stop the Drill representatives, the NI Water representatives stated that:
· the exploratory drilling process used at Woodburn was conventional and they emphasised that it was not fracking;
· the drilling process used best industry practice in the UK;
· the chemicals used were standard industry products that were used in deep drilling;
· the process and the chemicals employed had been used both within surface water and groundwater catchments in other areas of the UK, with no adverse effect on water quality nor adjacent aquifers;
· the drilling site had been taken out of the catchment area by closing the intake feed from the Woodburn River to the Woodburn South reservoirs;
· the site had been lined with a specialised geo-synthetic clay liner which prevented any liquids from penetrating the ground below;
· the site was surrounded by bunds to trap liquids and prevent them from exiting the site;
· NI Water had completed a risk assessment and had implemented increased monitoring of raw waters within the catchment and at the treatment works with automatic shutdown, and that these would remain in place during the decommissioning of the site, as well as for a period after the site had been fully restored.
Mr. Cousley reminded the Members that the exploration by InfraStrata had been unsuccessful and that decommissioning of the drill site had commenced on 17th June, 2016. He also outlined to the Committee that, while InfraStrata had a 50 year agreement with NI Water in relation to the site, full planning permission would be required for any further work to take place.
In response to a Member’s question in relation to whether NI Water felt that there had been any contamination of the water supply, given that the Stop the Drill representatives had suggested an oil spillage had occurred in March 2016, Mr. Cousley confirmed that there was no chance of the water supply having been contaminated as, before any works began, NI Water had diverted the stream from the site into the North Woodburn River and away from the Middle South Woodburn reservoir. Ms. McMullan added that the constant monitoring of the water, including the detection of hydrocarbons, would also show that no contamination had taken place.
In relation to the alleged oil spill at the access road to the site in March, Mr. Cousley advised that Members of the public had reportedly seen oil, and both NI Water and the NIEA visited the site. NIEA had classed it as ‘insignificant’ and had estimated that it was, perhaps, half a cupful of oil and, while some hydrocarbons were detected, it had declared that no further action was necessary. During further questions from Members, he confirmed to the Committee that a second oil spillage, at the boundary of the site, had been reported by a member of the public. He confirmed to the Members that inspection reports would have been completed by both NI Water and NIEA in relation to those reported spillages.
In response to a further Member’s question, Mr. McAleese confirmed that NI Water had met with the NIEA in relation to the exploratory drilling to discuss the risks and the monitoring of those risks, but had not met with the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).
A Member asked the NI Water representatives whether they were certain that no contamination had, or could, happen within the well site. In response, Mr. Cousley explained that the drill was designed in such a way that 100% of the waste within the drill liner was removed from the site, that the drill holes were filled with concrete and that no waste could have infiltrated the surrounding area.
Mr. McAleese confirmed to the Committee that the NIEA had taken samples of the water around the site prior to any work having taken place and Ms. McMullan reiterated that the water quality monitoring processes were taking place at the site well before the drilling began, while it was ongoing and that they would continue as long as Dorisland Water Treatment Works was in use by NI Water.
In response to a further Member’s question regarding the chemical Biocide T, Ms. McMullan asserted that a review had been carried out by the Environment Agency in February, 2015, which had found no evidence to suggest that Biocide T met the criteria for equivalent level of concern, and was deemed as a non-hazardous substance.
Mr. McAleese confirmed that NI Water had no objections to independent monitoring of the site during the restoration process.
In response to a further Member’s question, Mr. McAleese advised that an internal review would be carried out by NI Water to establish what, if anything, it might have done differently if a similar situation arose again, and what lessons had been learned as a result.
The Chairperson thanked the representatives from NI Water for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.
After further discussion, it was
Moved by Councillor Hargey,
Seconded by Alderman McGimpsey and
Resolved - that the Committee:
1. formally invites InfraStrata to a future meeting,
2. that RPS, as the agents for InfraStrata, also be invited to that meeting;
3. that clarification be sought from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) on the reported oil spillages;
4. that Stop the Drill provides the evidence outlined previously; and
5. that officers continue to engage with the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in relation to this issue.
The Head of Environmental Health reminded the Members that the exploratory drilling at Woodburn Forest, and the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, was the subject of a Judicial Review and she advised the Committee that updates would therefore be sought, when appropriate, from that Council.