The first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, but regulators recorded ‘strong landfill gas odours’ in surrounding villages this week.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday, April 18.

This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.

During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday, Thursday, April 25, NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed - two ahead of the imposed deadlines.

RML has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of cell 8, the cell identified as causing the odour issues. These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.

Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.

While progress is being made, NRW officers say that they detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday, April 24, in Poyston Cross and Crundale.

“Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction,” said an NRW spokesperson.

NRW said that the remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time. The regulatory body says it will continues to closely monitor progress at the Withyhedge landfill site.

Clare Pillman, chief executive of NRW, said that the disruption to local residents’ lives from the landfill stench was unacceptable.

She met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire yesterday.

“While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site,” said Ms Pillman.

“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible.

“While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.

“We want to make sure that happens and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”

Huwel Manley, head of south west operations, added: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.

“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in the notice by May 14.

“If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”

NRW has asked locals to report instances of odour from the landfill at the time hey occur via the dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.