A group of Welsh campaigners are returning to Brussels to make further submissions to the European Parliament's Petitions Committee.
In December 2007 the committee decided that further investigation was needed into the LNG terminal and pipeline in Wales. Following evidence from six Welsh petitioners and Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans, the committee asked the European Commission to look into breaches of seven European directives.
Jill Evans said:
"I supported the petitioners at December's hearing in Brussels. They presented compelling evidence, and there was wide cross party support for pursuing this matter with the European Commission. The Commission indicated that they would out an investigation into possible breaches of EU directives and report back on its investigations when the petitioners would be invited back to Brussels. This has now been done and they will attend the committee on 2 April.
"This massive project has generated a huge amount of public anxiety, and the December hearing highlighted the serious lack of consultation with local residents, amongst other failings."
The pipeline's 150 mile long route stretches from Milford Haven to Gloucestershire crossing south Wales and in parts running within a few metres of houses and schools. The petitioners - Liz Whomsley, Heather Pickford and Jim Dunckley - claim the pipeline is ill thought out and dangerous, and their petition states that the scheme breaches several European directives - on this basis they were calling for the European Commission to intervene.
A separate petition by Mr Rodney Maile on the LNG Terminal at Milford Haven is also being discussed at the Committee.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The petition cites seven breaches of EU Directives, namely:
- Directive 85/337 on environmental impact assessment, as amended by Directive 97/11 (in respect to slicing up of the assessment, as well, as regards serious flaws in factual basis)
- Directive 2003/04 on public access to information about the environment (see above, including blasting activities)
- Directive 2003735 on public participation in the drawing up of plans and programmes relating to the environment (cf. the valuable information on geological & ground conditions that local knowledge could have contributed),
- Directive 92/43 on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora (only mitigation measures are foreseen, not a choice of alternative routing, which could avoid damage to protected sites)
- Directive 96/61 on prevention of major industrial accidents (in respect to storage, etc., facilities in harbour),
- Directive 2003/55 on the internal market in gas (the provisions concerning safety),
- Directive 2004/35 on the protection of soil (as regards routing the pipeline through areas of contaminated soil
