In the current phase of the project, the MOD is seeking to identify:
- How best to dismantle the submarines;
- Where best to dismantle the submarines;
- Where best to store the Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste;
- How we will work with industry to achieve the aims of the project.
To do this, we are undertaking a programme of technical, environmental and value-for-money studies that will form the basis of public consultation. This will last for at least 12 weeks and will be conducted in accordance with the Government’s Code of Practice on Public Consultation.
The environmental work we are carrying out is known as a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). SEA is a formal and legally-defined process that assesses any potentially significant environmental, health, social and economic effects of the SDP options, and their wider implications for sustainable development. This assessment, and the resulting environmental report, will be considered as a key element of the public consultation.
As part of the public consultation, background information will be made available to allow people to reach an informed view. As well as the environmental report, a full explanation of the proposals, the logic applied, and the technical studies that underpin them, will be available.
No major decisions will be taken until we have completed public consultation.
Other work during the current phase of the project includes:
- Working with regulators (including the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) to understand the likely regulatory requirements for the project;
- Technical Studies to evaluate the available options for dismantling the submarines and packaging the resulting Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste;
- Early planning for a proposed ‘demonstrator’ that, in the next phase of the project, will dismantle at least one submarine to help us refine the technical dismantling processes.
- Briefings to elected representatives in areas where there are sites that may be included within the Stage A SEA Scoping Report.
Statutory Consultation
The legislation regarding Strategic Environmental Assessment names specific organisations that need to be consulted before public consultation can start. This is called statutory consultation and will form the basis for the SEA assessment and public consultation. The organisations are:
- England: Countryside Agency, English Heritage, Natural England, and the Environment Agency
- Scotland: Historic Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
- Wales: Cadw (Welsh Historic Environment), Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency.
We will also be consulting with a range of other government departments, for example Department for Energy and Climate Change that have an interest in environmental matters, in addition to those required by law.
The first stage of Statutory Consultation on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) commenced in June 2010; the second stage of the consultation on the detail of the SEA, which also addresses the feedback received in this initial stage, commenced in December 2010.
The materials on which these bodies are being consulted are available in the Document Library
Next Steps:
Public Consultation
The public consultation is due to take place in the second half of 2011, and will be carried out at both a local and national level. The local consultation will take place at sites that are potential candidates for either the submarine dismantling or the radioactive waste storage activities. The consultation will be advertised through the local media, letters to local residents living close to shortlisted sites and through the website. If you would like to be informed when the public consultation starts and how you can participate, please register in the newsletter/comments section of the website.