Written question asked by David Heath (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 18 July 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 July 2000. It was answered by Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 July 2000 on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of the extraction of minerals other than aggregates. - Inc ref to London Economics study "The Environmental Costs and Benefits of the Supply of Aggregates".

Answer: Mr. David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of the extraction of minerals other than aggregates. [131923] Ms Beverley Hughes: Part 1 of the London Economics study "The Environmental Costs and Benefits of the Supply of Aggregates", published in 1998, examined how far the estimates of the value of environmental impacts of aggregates could be transferred to the surface extraction of other minerals. It was found that extraction of other surface minerals does not create any specific or additional environmental impacts that were not identified in the case of aggregates. However, the estimates of the value of the costs cannot generally be transferred directly, because the size of the environmental impacts of different types of extractive operations vary, and there may also be specific local factors.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 354 c588W; 131923
Session: 1999-00
Subjects: Environment protection Environmental impact assessment Mining Minerals London Economics
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk