Environment Agency Press Notice

Press Notice

The Environment Agency is leading a multi-agency response to protect people and the environment following an incident at Preesall, Lancs, which saw contaminated brine water burst into the air, falling onto local fields, and causing the closure of a local road.

On Saturday (18 June) the wellhead of an old disused brine well collapsed on a site owned by Halite Energy Ltd. Swift action was taken to minimise the environment impact, however, the brine discharge has affected an area of farmland and entered a nearby river.

The Environment Agency, Wyre Borough Council, Natural England and the Foods Standards Agency, amongst others*, have been closely monitoring the situation to understand the extent of the impact and to protect people and the environment.

The incident has caused no public health risks and roads are now open as normal. Monitoring of the flow of the contaminated water has shown that there does not appear to be any impact on the Wyre estuary or water supplies. The Food Standards Agency has confirmed that the risk of contamination of local mussel beds appears to be very low.

Local farmers have been given guidance, and advised not to use their fields until further information has been gathered. The multi-agency group is keeping in touch with farmers in close proximity to the site.

Halite Energy Ltd is carrying out a thorough investigation into the reasons why this event occurred, and a clean-up operation is underway.

Keith Budinger, chief executive of Halite said: "Halite is working closely and cooperating fully with all the relevant agencies, including the Environment Agency, Lancashire County Council and Wyre Borough Council, to ensure that we mitigate the impact of this incident. Alongside this activity we are carrying out a thorough investigation into the reasons why this event occurred.

"Halite is committed to being a good steward of the land in our ownership and we take this responsibility very seriously. We will ensure that we review our ongoing maintenance programme following this event.

"Once again I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the disruption caused during the past few days and assure the local community that we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact of the incident."

*The multi-agency response includes representatives from the Environment Agency, Wyre Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, Natural England, the Foods Standards Agency, Health Protection Agency, Marine Management Organisation, Maritime Coastguard Agency, Lancashire Labs, and CEFAS.

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