Andrew Murrison has written to DEFRA minister Sir Mark Spencer and the Environment Agency congratulating him on directing the EA to pause issuing permits for waste incinerators pending a review of overcapacity.
The minister took the action on 4 April. Andrew has asked him to extend it to revoking permits already granted, such as at Westbury, which he can do under the 2016 Environmental Permitting Regulations. He said;
"I'm pleased my colleagues at DEFRA are listening to concerns on this. Plainly there has been a shift in sentiment and incinerator operators must really be feeling the heat, so to speak. The current moratorium on incinerators in Scotland began with a similar pause and look forward to the same in England.
In his letter to Sir Mark, Dr Murrison also asked the minister to review the eligibility of incinerators for the Emissions Trading Scheme. He said;
"It is hardly surprising, given the generous concessions the scheme offers, that waste operators are still building old style waste burners. Far better to invest any public subsidy going in genuinely green schemes. We should be ensuring that organic waste in particular is channelled appropriately rather than sustaining so-called Energy from Waste plants that, in reality, generate very little energy.
"It is time to stop using the atmosphere as an alternative landfill site. West Wiltshire has a proud tradition of campaigning for air quality, notably in connection to the old cement works. I'm determined Hills/NREL will never build their unwanted incinerator in Westbury and the minister's sensible intervention is one step closer to that end.