Halite plans to pump out the brine it extracts from constructing the salt caverns, 2.3km off the coast at Rossall, Fleetwood.
Halite has permission to pump out 80,000m3 of hypersaline brine per day out onto our coastline. Local marine experts are desperately concerned about the effects on fisheries and conservation as the area is a nursery area for cod, plaice and dover sole as well as being a feeding ground for thornback ray, brill, turbot dogfish and tope, seasonally. The brine will be eight times more saline than the receiving waters. As the outfall pipe is so low, and because of local tides and other pipe lines that go further out to sea in the area, there are fears that the brine will not be diluted and that much of the brine will sink to the bottom of the uneven sea bed and lie in the hollows making a toxic lake. Halite itself has said that the brine outfall will cause a 50m deadzone meaning that any species not mobile will not be able to survive, potentially affecting the whole food web.
Halite have a licence from the Environment Agency to abstract up to 80,000m3 of water from the Fleetwood fish dock in order to wash out the caverns. They have a licence from the Marine Management Organisation to build the outfall pipe as well as a licence from the Environment Agency to pump out the brine. However, many of the licences are time limited and Halite are fast running out of time to start the project and keep their current permissions valid.
Before construction begins Halite Energy needs to have all pre-construction conditions passed by Wyre Council as per the Development Consent Order, completed baseline marine surveys as well as have detailed plans for the brine outfall monitoring passed by the Marine Monitoring Group.
Find out more about the different agencies, their role in the project, any licences granted and any public statements, below.
Halite have a licence from the Environment Agency to abstract up to 80,000m3 of water from the Fleetwood fish dock in order to wash out the caverns. They have a licence from the Marine Management Organisation to build the outfall pipe as well as a licence from the Environment Agency to pump out the brine. However, many of the licences are time limited and Halite are fast running out of time to start the project and keep their current permissions valid.
Before construction begins Halite Energy needs to have all pre-construction conditions passed by Wyre Council as per the Development Consent Order, completed baseline marine surveys as well as have detailed plans for the brine outfall monitoring passed by the Marine Monitoring Group.
Find out more about the different agencies, their role in the project, any licences granted and any public statements, below.
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You can read more about our local marine life as well as community concerns about the brine outfall and the impact it will have in our Community Brief on Toxic Brine.
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The Environment Agency
The Environment Agency plays a key role in analysing any development consent order. For this project, we are particularly interested in their role in the brine discharge - both in providing licences for Halite to abstract water to wash out the caverns, as well as to discharge the hypersaline brine out at sea.
Abstraction LicenceValid until: Currenly rescinded.
Permission: Needs to be applied for again. |
Licence to discharge BrineValid until:
Permission to: |
Brine outfall modellling and other areas. |
Marine Monitoring Group
Before Halite begin to pump out the brine discharge they need to have detailed plans for the brine outfall monitoring passed by the Marine Monitoring Group. The Marine Monitoring Group held its first meeting on 27 March 2018. This was attended by representatives from the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England (NE), the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NWIFCA), the Wyre Rivers Trust and Halite.
The group was due to meet monthly to discuss how to monitor the brine discharge but so far has only met once. Public notes were issued by North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and can be found here.