Historic landfill site next to Newport is visible from space

If you liked playing on Google Earth in school on the old computers, you’ll know how to zoom out or find your home on street view.

An ariel view of Newport (Image: Google) This tool will allow those who live in Newport to see a bird's eye view of their home and city from Rogerstone to Liswerry and Langstone. 

However, you’ll also see four red bodies of what looks like sludge or water north of the Newport Wetlands and parallel to Liberty Steel.

The four red lagoons (Image: Google)

The vibrant colour is hard to miss even for those of us short sighted and is enough to raise some alarm bells.  

I reached out to Liberty Steel and Natural Resource Wales to ask what on earth they are and what danger they pose.

What on earth are they?

A spokesperson for Liberty Steel, which has a site parallel to the red lagoons, said:  

“The four red lagoons are not part of the Liberty Steel Newport site but are legacy settling pools that were created by the historical aluminum smelter British Aluminum. 

The road from Liberty Steel to the lagoons (Image: Google)

“We are working on the decontamination plan and reutilization of the site with external surveyors, advisors, and coordinators.” 

However, Natural Resource Wales revealed a more complicated history of the four large lagoons known as the ‘Slobland Lagoons’. 

The lagoons were used to dispose of waste, reveal Natural Resource Wales

The previous operator Alphasteel Ltd used the four lagoons to process water for the steel works.  

They were also used to dispose and deposit waste from the steel plant such as slag, refractory type waste, and non-toxic general factory arisings from around 1977 to 2006. 

This disposal was under a license issued to Alphasteel by Newport Borough Council from 1978 to 1996 respectively.

3D satellite imagery of the lagoons (Image: Google)

What was the timeline of authorizations for the landfill? 

• The original licence to dispose of the waste was granted and regulated by Newport Borough Council (NBC) between 1978 – 1990 under the Control of Pollution Act 1974.  

• From 1990 – 2007 the licence then became a Waste Management Licence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and was regulated by NBC until 1996 before transferring to Environment Agency Wales (EAW).  

• In 2007 the licence then became an Environmental Permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 regulated by EAW until 2011.

Is there a danger to the environment or public health?

In 2002, Environment Agency Wales notified Alphasteel Ltd that in accordance with Article 4 of the Landfill Directive, the area of land covered by license from Newport Council, formally classified as landfill for hazardous waste. 

In response to the question 'are the lagoons a danger to the Newport Wetlands', a Natural Resource Wales spokesperson said:

"Unless the ground is disturbed its unlikely to be a risk to Gwent Levels or Newport Wetlands SSSIs. The site is approximately 0.5 miles from the Newport Wetlands."

Natural Resources Wales and Environment Agency Wales have been notified of two environmental incidents at the Sloblands lagoons in 2015 where a lagoon was disturbed and deposited waste ‘sludge’ entered a nearby watercourse. 

Newport Wetlands (Image: Google)

What happened to Alphasteel Ltd and where did it leave the four lagoons? 

Record suggests Alphasteel Ltd went into administration in 2007 and entered liquidation in 2008.   

In 2009, Environment Agency Wales records confirmed that there was, and is, no financial provision (FP) in place or the FB had lapsed for the site. 

A Notice of Disclaimer by the administrators of Alphasteel Ltd was issued on 07 April 2011, which extinguished all rights and obligations of the company in relation to the property disclaimed.  

3D satellite imagery of the lagoons (Image: Google)

The following environmental permits ceased to exist when the notice took effect:  

• Environmental permit (ref EAWML 30007) to dispose and deposit waste from the steel plant.   

• A consent for the discharge of site drainage derived from the ‘Slobland’ lagoons ‘D’ to ‘H’ given to Alphasteel Ltd by the National Rivers Authority in 1995.    

• A license for the abstraction of water from a lagoon (sludge bed) for the purposes of process manufacturing was granted to Alphasteel Limited by the National Rivers Authority in 1995.