ST Classification: UNMARKED

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your recent request for information, which we have answered
in line with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
(“Regulations”). We have outlined our response below, including your
original questions for reference.

1. Please release all polycyclical aromatic hydrocarbon test data from
Coalport semi-treatment works for the last year.

2. Please release all documentation showing which PAHs are regularly
tested for.

3. Please confirm with documentation how Severn Trent knows in what
quantities PAHs are currently discharged into the Severn at Coalport.

Final effluent sampling at our sewage works for compliance monitoring
purposes is undertaken for all substances prescribed by the Environmental
Agency pursuant to our permit to discharge. Our permit for the Coalport
sewage works does not include any conditions relating to poly-aromatic
hydrocarbons and, as such, no sampling and analysis has been undertaken.

However, you may be interested to note that under the National Chemical
Investigations Programme (CIP), 600 sewage works were sampled nationally
(for effluent, both upstream and downstream river samples)  for PAH’s
(Benzo(a)pyrene and Fluoranthene) between 2015 and 2020.

Analysis of this data, available [1]here, has shown that sewage works are
not generally a material source of PAH in rivers. As the sites were
selected on basis of environmental risk (essentially dilution factors),
the list of sites included in CIP did not include Coalport.

Many thanks

Severn Trent EIR team

Severn Trent Plc (registered number 2366619) and Severn Trent Water
Limited (registered number 2366686) (together the "Companies") are both
limited companies registered in England & Wales with their registered
office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This
email (which includes any files attached to it) is not contractually
binding on its own, is intended solely for the named recipient and may
contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally privileged or trade secret information
protected by law. If you have received this message in error please delete
it and notify us immediately by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not
the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce,
retransmit, retain or rely on any information contained in this email.
Please note the Companies reserve the right to monitor email
communicationsin accordance with applicable law and regulations. To the
extent permitted by law, neither the Companies or any of their
subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or officer thereof, accepts any
liability whatsoever in relation to this email including liability arising
from any external breach of security or confidentiality or for virus
infection or for statements made by the sender as these are not
necessarily made on behalf of the Companies. Reduce waste! Please consider
the environment before printing this email

References

Visible links
1. https://severntrent.sharepoint.com/sites...

Hello

Thank you very much for your Environmental Information Regulation (EIR)
request. As per the regulations, we endeavour to provide a response no
later than 20 working days after the date of receipt of the request for
the information. It may take us longer to respond to your request if we
believe the request to be complex, or the volume of information requested
means that we may not be able to comply with the request within the
timeframe. We will however inform you of this prior to the 20-working day
deadline.

Kind regards, Severn Trent, EIR team. Severn Trent Plc (registered number
2366619) and Severn Trent Water Limited (registered number 2366686)
(together the "Companies") are both limited companies registered in
England & Wales with their registered office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St
John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This email (which includes any files
attached to it) is not contractually binding on its own, is intended
solely for the named recipient and may contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally
privileged or trade secret information protected by law. If you have
received this message in error please delete it and notify us immediately
by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not the intended recipient you
must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce, retransmit, retain or rely
on any information contained in this email. Please note the Companies
reserve the right to monitor email communicationsin accordance with
applicable law and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, neither
the Companies or any of their subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or
officer thereof, accepts any liability whatsoever in relation to this
email including liability arising from any external breach of security or
confidentiality or for virus infection or for statements made by the
sender as these are not necessarily made on behalf of the Companies.
Reduce waste! Please consider the environment before printing this email

ST Classification: OFFICIAL COMMERCIAL

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your recent request for information, which we have answered
in line with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
(“Regulations”). We have outlined our response below, including your
original questions for reference.

Please be aware that we assess each environmental information request
individually and regularly re-evaluate our position on disclosing data
that was previously withheld, taking into account relevant decision
notices and Tribunal outcomes.

You have asked us to review:

 1. “we have no other communications to share with you for the period
referenced”.  Please confirm whether communications exist, separate
from whether you are choosing to ‘share with’ me”. 

We have disclosed all relevant communications; none have been withheld,
other than those relating to our regulatory obligations.

 2. “information received by Severn Trent evidencing its statement that
Telford council is disabling ST release of the scientific chemical
testing data showing which chemicals are in the leachate entering the
foul sewer”.

The list of chemicals within the leachate that are controlled by the
consent have already been provided and appear on our website.  Limits are
not always set for every chemical within a particular trade effluent
consent but rather we usually set proxy limits which will encompass a
number of chemicals. For example, generally speaking, we would not consent
for individual acids but rather monitor for pH.  

Severn Trent Water has a responsibility to monitor compliance with our
consents. We monitor compliance against the consents we grant, using a
risk-based approach. With regard to the overspill, the applicable
environmental permit regulates the manner in which discharges are lawful
and permitted into our asset at any time during a 24-hour period. We can
confirm that the receiving treatment works is operating satisfactorily and
within the legal parameters prescribed under its environmental permit. 

3. “confirmation whether toxic chemicals are entering the World Heritage
Site from Telford Stoneyhill”.  It’s rather simple to answer this without
breaking the law. A simple yes or no would suffice.

Severn Trent is the regulator for trade effluent consents in the Telford
area; ‘toxicity’ is not a concept within trade effluent management.  We
therefore cannot comment further.

I thought it would be helpful to reiterate the duties of Water and Waste
Companies and Trade Effluent customers;

Severn Trent Water has a legal obligation to control and monitor trade
effluent which enters our sewerage network through the foul sewer.  We in
turn set specific consent requirements for each customer to ensure that we
are:

• able to effectively treat and safely return wastewater to the
environment without causing harm to the environment or damaging our
assets; and
• protecting those that work or are in and around the sewerage network.

Consents contain the various quality and volume limits specific to each
customer. The way we set limits for all trade effluent customers is based
on knowledge of the industry type, information provided from the applying
customers and any additional data that is available or that we collect as
part of the application/consenting process. In doing so, we set limits to
ensure that we are protecting our assets, people and the environment. The
limits we set are there to ensure that there is no harm to the environment
and to ensure that our treatment processes can effectively treat waste in
accordance with the environmental permits set for us by our regulators.
Where we identify issues with non-compliance, we undertake investigations
taking appropriate actions where required.

In a subsequent EIR request submitted on 12 July 2024, you also asked the
following, we have included the response to these questions below.

 1. In the light of belatedly released Environment Agency official finding
of phenol in the perimeter ditch receiving a chemical leachate stream
through external fence at Stoneyhill, please release Severn Trent risk
analysis of phenol being in the “elevated leachate” flow into the foul
sewer going from Stoneyhill to Coalport semi-treatment works and into
river Severn.

Our samples do not show any elevated levels of Phenol

2. Please specify whether Severn Trent has suggested Telford Council
correct the lie on Council website stating there is no toxic waste at
Stoneyhill in the light of the Environment Agency data.

Severn Trent are not able to comment on the information published by other
businesses. We suggest that you direct your question to the council
directly.

Many Thanks

Severn Trent EIR team

Severn Trent Plc (registered number 2366619) and Severn Trent Water
Limited (registered number 2366686) (together the "Companies") are both
limited companies registered in England & Wales with their registered
office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ. This
email (which includes any files attached to it) is not contractually
binding on its own, is intended solely for the named recipient and may
contain confidential, commercially sensitive or may be covered by legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must
not disclose or use the information contained in it. If you have received
this message in error, please notify the sender immediately or call us on
03457 500 500. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use,
disclose, distribute, reproduce, retransmit, retain or rely on any
information contained in this email. Please note the Companies reserve the
right to monitor email communications in accordance with applicable law
and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, neither the Companies or
any of their subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or officer thereof,
accepts any liability whatsoever in relation to this email including
liability arising from any external breach of security or confidentiality
or for virus infection or for statements made by the sender as these are
not necessarily made on behalf of the Companies. Reduce waste! Please
consider the environment before printing this email.