A pumping station to be built at a former colliery in Sunderland has been labelled as a "quick-fix remedy" by an environmental campaigner.
The Coal Authority wants to build a pumping station at the former Whitburn Colliery to tackle rising water in old seams and to prevent water eventually reaching and contaminating drinking supplies.
The Coal Authority predicts that mine water levels could reach sea level by January 2018, at which point the overlying aquifer would be at risk of pollution.
However, Bob Latimer, co-owner of Latimer’s Seafood Deli in Whitburn, believes there is a real danger that a "cocktail of poisons" could be discharged into the sea.
He said, "Seaburn and Roker lost their Blue Flags this summer because of the water quality. Heaven help Marsden and South Shields when the mine water pumping starts – no doubt rust colour flags will suffice. I paid to have the mine water tested and remember, it was being pumped at a very slow rate, yet it still contained iron, mercury, nickel, zinc and many other deadly chemicals. To pump this mine water into the sea is nothing more than a quick-fix remedy. It’s just an out-of-sight out-of-mind approach."
Mr Latimer has called for an independent probe into the matter before the pumping starts in January 2015. He said, "Let’s hope common sense prevails before the Environment Agency and Natural England become involved and a full independent investigation is carried out."
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said the environmental risk was "extremely low", adding, "We would not persist with the discharge if we believed it would harm marine life."
For more information, see the:
Bathing Water Regulations SI 2008/1097.
