Hundreds of tons of old mining waste dumped on mountain in Glynhafod
As we in AberdareOnline have said previously we believe Rhondda Cynon Taf Council have used the excuse of a new flood relief project in Glynhafod to dump hundreds of tons of old mining waste on the side of the mountain. Depending witch of the two reports you want to believe, yes two reports one saying the soil is detrimental to staff etc. When the other report supposedly says the waste is not damaging, AberdareOnline has written to Christopher David Gray of Terra Firma (Wales) Ltd asked a simple question.
“… there are no exposures, contamination or danger in the soil in your report is this correct?”
As RCTC had already had a full report on the soil and its content the above site many residents and we question why there was a need for a further report on the same soil structure. The second report contradicting the first by Earth Science Partnership, we understand there are no exposures. contamination or danger in the soil in your report is this correct?
There should not be inconsistency where school children and the public are concerned and, as two reputable commercially focused companies should have the best interests of the public before everything else.
Long-standing residents of Cwmaman and Glynhafod will remember the flood of 1986 that caused devastation to the area, following which a great amount of flood relief work was carried out on the River Aman and we don’t believe there has been a problem with flooding in this area since.
Christopher David Gray of Terra Firma (Wales) Ltd has not answered us, so we question has he something to hide? Perhaps not, yet why not answer the question? The public, local residents of Glynhafod and Cwmaman have a right to know!
Where are Natural Resources Wales on this issue? What work have they done with the soil samples? Have they taken any? What impact is there on what has become a sanctuary for local wildlife, insects, fungus and plant life?
The photograph above shows how the flood defences were constructed after the 1986 flooding that caused devastation to the area. A great amount of flood relief work was carried out on the River Aman then and we don’t believe there has been a problem in this area since that time.
So why did Rhondda Cynon Taf Council dump hundreds of tons of old mining waste on the side of the mountain? The leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Andrew Morgan said:
“This will significantly reduce disruption for local people, as they were faced with thousands of tonnes of material being transported through the narrow streets of Cwmaman by large vehicles.”
But let's not forget, Andrew Morgan must have a short memory, when he allowed thousands of tons of waste from the new Aberdare Community School to be transported through the villages of Godreaman Cwmaman and Glynhafod.
Did he think of the local people then?
Did he think of the people when the council had to remove the very same hundreds of tons of that Community School waste that the council dumped illegally in Glynhafod? Hundreds of tons again transported through the villages of Godreaman Cwmaman and Glynhafod.
The question is if flood prevention was required why didn’t Rhondda Cynon Taf Council use the illegal waste from the community school?
It would appear that Directors, Managers and Councillors are wasting thousands of pounds of council taxpayers money making bad decisions. And with no real opposition in the council chamber or from opposition parties, we are sure it will continue in the years to come.
It is those very same bad decision makers in control of our frontline services, the same services being cut and our council tax increasing every year.
So what does the future look like for this latest flood prevention scam from RCTC, well the following photograph shows mining waste already being washed into the River Aman…
