Grange Landfill

 Grange Landfill, Droppingwell, Rotherham, is a permitted landfill site that began operating in the 1940s, continuing until the late 1990s. The site received a variety of different waste types during its operation. 

In 2015, the operator applied to vary the environmental permit to start depositing inert waste at the site in a previously untipped area of the site. The Environment Agency was obliged to determine the application.

After due consideration, the Environment Agency determined that the application met the requirements of the Landfill Directive and issued the variation in March 2016. 

The varied permit allows the landfilling of inert waste in a distinct cell with engineered separation from the old (Phase 1) part of the site. The permit includes conditions to minimise and mitigate the potential risks to the environment. 

The environmental permit for this site only allows the deposit of inert waste. Inert waste is "waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformation" for example soil and stone. 

The activities on site will be regulated by the Environment Agency in a number of ways:

Inspection - where an officer visits the site. Inspections are usually planned but can be unannounced. Environment Agency staff undertake a compliance visit, which is an assessment of the activities being undertaken on site in line with the environmental permit.

Compliance Assessment - The Environment Agency undertake compliance assessments which are desk-based reviews of whether the site is complying with permit requirements, for example reviewing submitted environmental monitoring data and waste returns data.

 The Environment Agency may take action if they suspect that a breach of permit conditions has occurred. Our actions might include:

• giving advice and guidance,
• amend permit conditions,
• serving an enforcement notice, which will state what have to be done to bring activities back into compliance and by when,
• serving a suspension notice if there’s a risk of pollution,
• prosecuting if we believe it’s in the public interest.

Site inspections - Like many organisations, we have to prioritise everything we do and ensure we make the right choices about where and how to work. We need to be flexible in our regulatory approach to ensure that focus is placed on those sites that pose the greatest risk to the environment.

Grange Landfill is considered a low risk site, as it is an inert landfill and not yet operational.  However, as first agreed with RMBC in 2019, and in recognition of local concerns it is our intention to maintain site inspections on a quarterly basis until further notice.