The Coal Authority has welcomed the announcement of the Environment Agency list of more serious minewater discharges from abandoned coal mines, and is working in partnership with interested bodies to establish the next priorities.

Work is planned to start on schemes at selected priority sites, Scotland, England and Wales this year, where negotiations are currently taking place to acquire the necessary land.

Continuing to develop understanding of the environmental effects and treatment of minewater is one of eight objectives set by the Authority Code of Environmental Practice. Specific targets have been set for the year ending March 1998.

The first wetland scheme commissioned by the Coal Authority at Woolley has attracted widespread interest from external organisations including the Environment Agency and Durham County Council.

Believed to be the largest wetland scheme for the treatment of water from coal mine workings anywhere in Britain, and probably in Europe, the reedbeds have been hailed as a major success in treating discharges from abandoned mineworkings.

After careful monitoring, tests show that the iron content of the water discharged into the water course at Woolley has been dramatically reduced and is below the required levels.

The Coal Authority is working closely with the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, local authorities and other external agencies to introduce a phased programme of treatment schemes at the next priority sites.