Feb 21 2007
The Environment Agency has agreed to remove 7,500t of soil contaminated with Japanese knotweed which its contractors brought in for a flood defence contract at Botany Marsh near Southwold.
The fill was imported last August in advance of main construction works and was stockpiled for four weeks before work began on an embankment.
"At this time, the environmental clerk of works identified the presence of Japanese knotweed and halted the works," said an Agency spokeswoman. "This contamination was not evident during importation of clay and only came to light when the small fragments of root had started to grow."
The news reached landowners who threatened legal action if the clay were not removed. Elsewhere in the country the Agency has required imported soil contaminated with knotweed ' a controlled waste ' to be removed (BB, Dec 2006).
Last month the Agency decided the material must be removed to a licensed landfill and replaced with clean material.
"As the material has been moved in the area of the embankment footprint, it is recognised that a suitable management programme will be required until the working area has been de-contaminated," it says.
"The Agency is currently assessing options for resolution and long term maintenance requirements that will ensure that the affected landowners will in no way be disadvantaged by the issue or have any long term liabilities."