Report a smell at Withyhedge Landfill, Pembrokeshire

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has taken further enforcement action at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire, setting out the urgent steps that must be taken by its operators to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

NRW has issued site operators Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice which requires the operator to deliver a series of actions by specified deadlines – the first of which is to be achieved by 21 April 2024.The actions include implementing measures relating to gas management infrastructure, further capping of areas of the site, as well as improving interim cover arrangements as the work progresses.  Each of the steps outlined in the Notice have to be completed by 14 May, although the notice stipulates that the majority of the works will be required to be completed before 8 May. The measures are intended to address the odour issues experienced by communities surrounding the site.

While actions set out in the Section 36 Notice issued in February to prepare and cap a waste cell and install gas infrastructure to contain and collect landfill gases appear to have been completed, other possible areas on site where odour may be coming from have been identified by the site operator.

RML submitted their plans on how to resolve these issues last week, with the proposed solutions informing the actions included in the new S36 notice issued this week.

This new enforcement activity requires the operator to deliver the additional steps they need to take. If the actions outlined in this new Notice are not complied with, NRW will will not hesitate to take further action and will consider all the regulatory tools available – including issuing a Section 37 suspension notice, should this be appropriate.

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, NRW, said:

“NRW is taking additional enforcement action to ensure RML Ltd. takes the urgent action they have identified that is needed to get the odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill under control.  

“We fully understand the growing discontent from the affected communities, and we feel that it is unacceptable for residents and visitors to the area to continue to be affected by these odour and landfill gas emissions.

“We want to reassure everyone that we are committed to ensuring RML Ltd. deliver the actions they have identified, and that they work quickly to bring this issue to a resolution.

“While the pressing work required by the operator progresses over the coming days and weeks, the site remains under investigation and we will continue our regulatory presence.

“Nothing is off the table. If the series of actions required in this Notice are not complied with, we will have no hesitation to take further enforcement action, considering every option available to us under the regulations, including suspending the environmental permit if appropriate.”

Will Bramble, Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive, said:

“We are extremely disappointed that RML, the company managing the Withyhedge landfill site, has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable odour emissions.

“We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation. 

"We also support the intent of NRW to take further action should it fail to meet the deadline set of 14 May 2024 – including considering taking action to suspend the permit.

“Geotechnology is carrying out monitoring under the direction of the air quality cell and liaising directly with residents affected.

“We will ensure the data is made available to the public at the earliest opportunity.”

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) shared the most recent findings from a visit to Withyhedge Landfill site in Pembrokeshire at a Multi-agency Incident Management Team meeting on Wednesday, 10 April. The meeting included representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC), Public Health Wales (PHW) and Hywel Dda University Health Board.

All authorities acknowledge and empathise with the impact this prolonged odour issue is having on members of the communities that surround Withyhedge Landfill.

This is a complex and ever-changing situation, and partners are working extremely hard to reach a point where the odour problems are resolved.

NRW officers attended the site on Monday 8 April. It appears, from a visual assessment of the work undertaken on site, that the required capping work and gas well installation has been completed by site operators, RML, in line with the deadline of the S36 Enforcement Notice, issued by NRW on 13 February 2024.

However, this can only be fully assessed by NRW once survey and construction validation reports have been submitted. The operator is now preparing these and once received, a formal assessment will be undertaken.

The authorities will review the findings and revise their action plans where appropriate.

Odour Monitoring

Since the passing of the S36 Enforcement Notice deadline of Friday 5 April, and in response to continued high volumes of odour reports from the local community, NRW and PCC increased odour monitoring in residential areas over the weekend and into this week.

Other possible areas on site where odour may be coming from have been identified and the statement from the company issued 9 April provides further detail.

RML submitted plans to address these on 10 April, which are now being considered by NRW.

Air Quality Monitoring

RML has also commissioned an independent party to carry out air quality monitoring, and this work continues. PCC and NRW are providing technical advice in support of this work.

The first round of diffusion tubes monitoring results detected Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) at one of the 10 monitoring sites. Hydrogen sulphide being a colourless gas which often smells like rotten eggs and can come from the breakdown of waste materials in landfill.

More data is required for meaningful analysis and Public Health Wales continue to advocate for further air monitoring to take place as soon as possible. This is being progressed by PCC and NRW.

Reporting odour

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge.

Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.

On 13 February 2024, NRW served a Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on RML, the operator of Withyhedge Landfill requiring them to complete a number of actions in response to identified permit non-compliances which were linked to fugitive landfill gas emissions and offsite odours.

In recent weeks we have visited Withyhedge Landfill on a number of occasions to check progression with actions in the Notice, and to ensure that this work has not created other problems.

By close of play on 5 April 2024, the operator is required to have completed preparatory work, capping, and gas infrastructure installation on a previously uncapped waste mass. The work set out in the Notice has the purpose of containing and collecting landfill gas being produced in this area.

On Monday 8 April 2024, NRW will be attending Withyhedge Landfill to assess compliance with the actions required by the Notice, and inspect all other areas of the site. We will then consider the findings internally, and discuss with Pembrokeshire County Council and Public Health Wales at our multi-agency meeting on 10 April. We will publish an update on next steps in due course.  

As the onsite work progressed, we had anticipated that fugitive emissions would decrease and therefore odour reports would also subside. However, in recent weeks we have seen high volumes of reports and NRW officers have confirmed offsite odours from the landfill on occasions.

Following a high number of calls on Tuesday 2 April, NRW officers attended the landfill and conducted an offsite odour assessment in surrounding communities. While landfill gas was detected at one location, the predominant odours detected at that time were agricultural. However, in light of continuing concerns from the community, and the possibility that our assessment didn’t coincide with the period of strongest odours, we will undertake further odour assessments over the coming days.

We will continue with a regulatory presence at the site linked with our priority of ensuring that the site is being operated and managed in compliance with the permit, especially in relation to emission control. Any enforcement action necessary will be taken in line with our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

We have received many odour complaints since yesterday afternoon.

We are making enquiries to establish if there is an explanation for the reports of a stronger than normal odour, and one which is more widespread in the past 36 hours.

We had recorded a steady decline in the number of reports received in recent weeks until now.

Enforcement Notice

On 13 February 2024 we served an Enforcement Notice on the landfill operator. We maintain the work required under this Notice represents the most effective way of removing the source of the odour.  

The Notice required RML to complete several actions relating to an uncapped waste mass, which had been identified as the most likely source of landfill gas emissions and odour. The Notice includes several actions, some of which need to happen in a specific order, reflected by different completion deadlines.   

First action completed

The first action, which related to preparatory work prior to capping, was completed last week, in advance of the deadline of 15 March 2024. This has also enabled the capping work to progress ahead of schedule. In addition, all gas wells are in situ and are ready to be connected to the landfill gas collection infrastructure in a phased manner.

Gas survey

A gas survey undertaken by NRW during a compliance inspection on 7 March 2024 revealed much lower levels of methane emissions compared to a similar survey on 19 December 2023. However, there are areas of waste yet to be capped and these have the potential to release gas.

Engineering work

NRW is hopeful all engineering work on the previously uncapped area will be completed before the deadline of 5 April 2024. However, we appreciate the distress, anger and frustration caused by the impact of odour on local communities in the past couple of days. We are in daily dialogue with the landfill operator about the urgency of the situation and will be attending site again this week.

Air quality

On Friday 8 March 2024, NRW joined a multi-agency Air Quality Cell meeting regarding offsite monitoring. Results from the first set of diffusion tubes deployed in the communities around the landfill are expected early next week. All authorities including Public Health Wales will receive the data.

Dedicated reporting form

Please continue to report occurrences of odour via our dedicated reporting form or by calling 0300 065 3000.

PIC CAPTION: NRW regulatory officer inspecting the integrity of the capped area and gas management system

Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Public Health Wales and Pembrokeshire County Council will ensure capping of a waste cell causing significant odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill happens as swiftly and safely as possible. 

The three public bodies have been in regular contact since the start of the year. Following a public meeting held on Monday, 26 February, they are continuing to work together to achieve progress in resolving the issues affecting the communities surrounding the landfill.

Erin Smyth-Evans, Industry Regulation Team Leader for South West, NRW, said: 

“NRW is continuing its on-site inspections to ensure the site operator is moving forward effectively in its work to cap the cell where we have identified the most probable source of the odour. Work onsite is progressing daily and we anticipate noticeable reductions in landfill gas emissions and odours in the coming weeks. 

“NRW is also continuing its investigations into permit non-compliances which in part have led us to serve an enforcement notice on RML in recent weeks. This outlined the steps the company needs to take to come back into compliance, and complete the landfill engineering work to contain and collect landfill gas. Our investigatory enquiries will take time and at present, ensuring the capping works are complete is our top priority.” 

The public bodies are working with the site operator to monitor air quality in response to increasing health concerns from the local community. Results are expected to start being received mid-March. Public Health Wales will then be able to provide further advice dependent on those results. 

Dr Giri Shankar, Director of Health Protection for Public Health Wales, said:  

“We recognise that local people are under strain and are very concerned about the impacts of odours around the Withyhedge landfill site.

“While Public Health Wales is not the lead agency for matters like this, we are working very closely with NRW to make sure the situation is improved quickly to reduce the impact on local people.  We have met with NRW and the local authority and are eager to see an urgent solution to this issue.  We have also recommended that the site is capped as soon as possible so that the odours are stopped.

“We have also called for monitoring at the site, as this will provide us with the important information that we need to help us conduct a full assessment of any potential health impacts on the local community. 

“Our current advice to local residents is that odours and emissions from this site may be harmful to health, and that they should keep doors and windows closed when the smells are present and seek medical advice if necessary.  We hope this situation can be quickly improved.” 

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said:

“We recognise the impact of odours on the local community coming from the Withyhedge site and we understand the level of concern this has caused.

“Since before Christmas our officers have been working closely with colleagues from lead organisation NRW to assess the incidence of odours from Withyhedge. Officers from our Planning and Public Protection teams have visited the site alongside NRW colleagues and engaged with the operators.

“I assure you a lot of work is continuing in the background and all public bodies have reconfirmed their commitment to ensuring a long term solution to the problems as soon as possible.

“As partners we have also committed to continue engaging with the local community and updating on the situation going forward.”

Members of the public are urged to continue reporting odour incidents to NRW. 

NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge 

Here you will also find detailed information on NRW’s investigation and action to date.

We held a virtual public meeting on 31.1.24. to explain to community members affected by the odour and pollution issues what action NRW has taken so far, and what we plan to do next.

Below is the presentation that our industry regulations team gave to attendees.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is hosting a virtual public meeting to update the community affected by odour coming from Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire. 

The online meeting will take place on Wednesday, 31 January, at 6pm. 

NRW’S Industry Regulation team will provide an update on recent regulatory activity as well as wider context around the permit held by the operator and NRW’s role in ensuring compliance with that permit. The event will conclude with a question-and-answer session. 

Members of the community who wish to attend should complete the online form, which includes opportunity to provide questions beforehand that NRW will endeavour to cover during the meeting. 

NRW has been receiving high volumes of reports of odour and pollution concerns from community members. The organisation believes the principle source of odour to be an uncapped cell containing waste which is producing landfill gas. The regulations team's primary objective is ensuring that actions to reduce odour emissions are undertaken by the operator. 

Erin Smyth-Evans, Industry Regulation Team Leader for south west, said: 

“We have been inundated with reports from the local community regarding odour and other pollution concerns at Withyhedge and understand the frustration and anger this is causing. Due to the volume of calls and our officers focussing on reducing the odour, we have been unable to provide individual feedback. 

“We’re holding this virtual meeting to provide people with a full update on our regulatory activity and answer as many questions as possible. Providing the appropriate level of feedback to the community is important and this event marks the beginning of improved engagement with the local community.” 

To confirm attendance at the meeting and to submit a question for the Q&A session, complete the following form: https://bit.ly/BookingFormWithyhedge. 

Details on how to join the meeting will be sent to the email address provided in the booking form. 

Natural Resources Wales would like to thank those who continue to report odour incidents from Withyhedge Landfill, Pembrokeshire.

Please be assured we are taking each report seriously and are focussing all our efforts on addressing the issues raised. Due to the unprecedented number of reports we’re receiving, we are unable to provide individual feedback at this time.

We are receiving some reports from beyond the immediate surrounding communities which we are seeking to verify to confirm the extent of impact. In addition, many calls are now detailing health concerns.

Whilst we take such reports very seriously, Natural Resources Wales is not the competent authority to assess the impact on human health.

If you are concerned about impacts on your health, you should:

• Seek advice from a medical professional e.g. a GP; or
• Contact NHS Direct Wales on 111 or at https://111.wales.nhs.uk/

In accordance with our incident procedures, we have notified Public Health Wales of these reports.

We still view the uncapped cell containing previously tipped waste as the most likely source of landfill gas emission and odour.

Ways to speed up the capping and gas management installation works are being explored. It is critical NRW undertake the necessary checks to ensure that decisions made to resolve issues more promptly now, don’t generate other risks in the future. We are waiting for additional information from the operator to allow us to make these assessments.

We will be contacting community leaders this week to confirm a date for a virtual meeting, which will provide an opportunity for NRW to provide a more detailed update on the work being carried out to investigate and resolve the odour and pollution issues. This will include a question and answer session.

Keep checking our website for updates and reporting odour either via this online form Report a smell at Withyhedge Landfill, our 24-hour number - 0300 065 3000. Please ensure the report includes a description of the odour, the time noticed and the duration it is experienced.

We continue to receive large numbers of odour incident reports regarding Withyhedge Landfill, Pembrokeshire, and understand the frustration and anger this is causing in local communities.

Before Christmas we served an Enforcement Notice on the landfill operator requiring them to cover all exposed waste before the festive break to reduce fugitive odour emissions. Although the site completed this action, unfortunately it appears to have had limited impact on reducing offsite odours.

The landfill reopened on 2 January and residents may have seen vehicles arriving since this date. No further waste will be deposited in the cell where tipping was taking place before Christmas. The construction validation report for a new cell has been agreed and waste will be deposited in this location.

During our site inspection on 19 December 2023, we carried out a preliminary landfill gas survey in the cell used to deposit waste in 2023. The results indicate that gas at varying levels is being released across the waste mass as it begins to decompose. We consider this to be the most probable source of offsite odours.

The cell requires capping and the installation of landfill gas collection and extraction infrastructure to manage this gas. This is standard landfill engineering and the best way to resolve the ongoing odour issues.

The operator has submitted a plan to NRW outlining the steps to cap the former cell. We are currently reviewing this document. The plan indicates a timeframe of 2 – 3 months to complete the capping and landfill gas infrastructure; we will seek to expediate this wherever possible. The plan will not see a reduction in odours which may extend offsite in the immediate or short term. The process will also involve reprofiling the cell prior to capping and this could generate additional odour.

We have increased our regulatory presence onsite and our higher level of oversight will continue for the foreseeable. We are investigating several potential permit non-compliances and where appropriate will take further enforcement action.

We fully acknowledge the level of discontent in the communities surrounding Withyhedge Landfill. We also recognise that our feedback to incident reporters has been limited due to the volume of calls received and us prioritising site-based regulation.

We hope this serves as a useful update but appreciate there may be a lot of questions about the site and our regulatory activity. Therefore, we intend to hold a virtual online meeting in the next couple of weeks to address these queries. Further information on this will follow.

We are thankful to those who are raising this issue to us and encourage anyone affected by odour, or who has concerns about pollution from Withyhedge Landfill, to contact NRW and report via our 24-hour number - 0300 065 3000, or report online Natural Resources Wales / Report an incident. Please ensure the report includes a description of the odour, the time noticed and the duration it is experienced.

We fully recognise and understand the great deal of concern there is amongst the local community surrounding Withyhedge Landfill.

We do not underestimate the impact the continuing reports of odour from the site is having on residents and visitors to the area and we are taking this matter seriously.

We are also aware of the apparent overflow from a containment pond and potential pollution caused to the Rudbaxton Brook. This matter is under investigation

Our officers are working extremely hard to ensure the landfill operators take immediate action before the Christmas break to limit impacts from the site over the festive period.

We will continue to update the community as our regulatory activities progress.

Response to reports

We have been receiving increasing numbers of reports of odour from Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire from surrounding communities since October.

Offsite odour attributed to Withyhedge Landfill has been substantiated by NRW staff on four occasions. We have also detected other odours in the area from agricultural sources and recognise other odour sources are present. We will continue with our odour assessments and are being supported by Pembrokeshire County Council in this activity.

Site Visits

To regulate this site and ensure compliance with its permit our regulatory officers carry out reviews of data, reports and other information provided by the operator. We also carry out site visits to see first-hand how the site is being operated.

Our regulatory officers have attended the landfill on three occasions in November and December 2023 primarily to inspect aspects of the site operation and management which could be contributing to offsite odours. These visits also identified an unauthorised emission, believed to be untreated surface water. This has been sampled and we are awaiting results. Advice and instruction have been provided to the site operator following our visits. We have reinforced the completion of certain actions agreed with the operator by the issue of an enforcement notice. We will continue to monitor the situation and escalate our response if required.

NRW officers are also investigating possible effluent pollution from the site linked to a specific event that was filmed and posted online. Unfortunately, there was a delay in this being reported to NRW. The area of the site in question was inspected on 19 December 2023 and enquiries are ongoing.

Environmental Permit

Withyhedge Landfill operates under an Environmental Permit, which requires the operators to comply with a set of rules and conditions.  To comply with the permit operators must be able to explain to us and explain in their management system what measures they are using to protect people and the environment. If something goes wrong, we need to know what the operator is going to do about it.

Withyhedge Landfill’s permit specifies what types of waste can be disposed of there, and how much can be accepted, but it does not include restrictions on the origin of the waste The volume of waste the site is permitted to accept has not changed since 2011.

Report it

We are grateful to everyone that has reported issues related to this site to us to date, and hope that they are reassured that we are taking all the necessary steps to address this matter.

We encourage anyone affected by odour, or who has concerns about pollution from Withyhedge Landfill, to contact NRW and report via our 24-hour number - 0300 065 3000, or report online Natural Resources Wales / Report an incident and ensure to provide a description of the type of smell you are experiencing.