Thank you for your recent FOI / EIR request. Please find attached an acknowledgement for this request.
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Dear Mr Cawthorne

 

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004 - INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 23rd July 2023.  We
apologise for the delay in our response. We have considered your request
and enclose the following information –

 

1. Please list all Sirhowy sediment and biota testing carried out in 2023
by any party known to CCBC: a) dates, b) precise locations and type of
testing at each, c) which chemicals are being tested for -please list d)
commissioning body, e) analytical lab used, f) whether minimum detectable
level is being used for lab reporting or alternative higher threshold
which minimises positive findings (as Press Association reported happened
this year regarding PCBs leaking from Ty Llwyd, which were already
confirmed in 2023 by Greenpeace Exeter Uni lab positive PCBs finding in
community woodland yet missed soon after by official testers)

 

The Environmental Health department have not undertaken any sediment or
biota testing of the river Sirhowy. Caerphilly County Borough Council are
not aware of any sediment or biota testing by any party, carried out in
2023.

 

2. Please confirm unambiguously whether each Sirhowy sediment and biota
test is part of EPA Part 2A formal process or not.

 

As above

 

3. a) Please confirm that Stanger 2001 report including affirmative
conclusion about pollution of controlled waters is one of the source
documents which will be explicitly referenced and included in the
desk-based investigation report write up as part of initial EPA Part 2A
formal process. (Any further attempt to airbrush Stanger 2001 away will be
badly received by informed media ).

 

Information not held

 

b) please confirm which department at CCBC i. disposed of previously
available Ty Llwyd site reports, including Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Pollution report about Ty Llwyd recommending radical remediation ii. made
unavailable for reference by SKM consultancy the Stanger 2001 report
confirming pollution of controlled waters

 

Information not held

 

4. Please release all documentation showing Arcadis’ formal local fitness
for purpose as a Ty Llwyd toxic waste egress consultant : i. after not
advising CCBC in any accountable way of the existence of ongoing legal
breach, as confirmed by NRW in 2023, of known pattern of toxic egress to
community woodland, road and river over many years ii. after failure of
recent schemes of work which followed Arcadis previous consultancy
‘assistance’ in not reporting the legal breach or facilitating stopping
the illegal flow iii. Please release CCBC Quality Assurance evaluation of
previous Arcadis Ty Llwyd consultancy

 

Information not held

 

We supply this information based on your original request. If this is not
what you wanted or if you feel we have not fully understood your request
please do not hesitate to contact me to clarify your exact requirements.

 

Please note that we have dealt with your enquiry under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004. Environmental information is exempt from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by a Section 39
exemption. This exemption exists due to provision for access to this type
of information already being provided for by the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004. Therefore in accordance with Section 17 of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 this letter acts as a Refusal Notice to supply
this information under the Freedom of Information Act.

 

If you have any queries or concerns or are in any way dissatisfied with
the handling of your request please contact us

 

Yours sincerely

 

CORPORATE INFORMATION GOVERNANCE UNIT

 

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental Information Regulations
2004

 

You have the right to appeal against our decision.
If you wish to appeal please set out If you are unhappy with that decision
in writing your grounds of appeal you have the right to appeal to:
and send to:
 
 
Information Commissioner’s Office –
Corporate Information Governance Wales
Unit 2nd Floor
Caerphilly county borough council, Churchill House
Penallta House Churchill Way
Tredomen Park Cardiff
Hengoed. CF82 7PG CF10 2HH

   

Appeals will be determined by an Telephone: 0330 414 6421
appropriate senior officer.
 

Website: [1]www.ico.org.uk

Email: [2][email address]

Re-

Re-use of information without permission may infringe the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988. Re-use can include, but is not limited to,
making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies of the information
to a wider audience. If you would like to re-use copyright material owned
by Caerphilly County Borough Council, please contact us. Authorisation to
re-use copyright material not owned by this Authority should be sought
directly from the copyright owner.

 

 

How we will use your information

 

Caerphilly County Borough Council will process your request, the
information relevant to your request, your identity and contact details
for the purposes of providing you with a response. A copy of your request
and your response will be kept for 3 years. Some requests and responses
may be kept longer but this will be in an anonymised form.

 

Your request including your identity and contact details will be
distributed to relevant service areas and elected members who may either
hold the information you have requested or are involved in the processing
of requests. Other organisations and individuals who may be affected by
the disclosure of the information you have requested may be consulted
prior to a decision being made on the disclosure.

 

If you have made a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
or others in relation to the processing of your request, copies of your
request, response and any additional correspondence between you and
Caerphilly County Borough Council in relevant to your request may be
shared with them.

 

You have a number of rights in relation to your information including the
right of access to information we hold about you and the right of
complaint if you are unhappy with the way that we have handled your
request or your information.

 

For further information on how we process your information and your rights
please click the following link:

 

[3]https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/Caerphilly...

 

 

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