Inquiry day 4 – big beasts

We started the day with Dart’s witness on leaking methane saying that you can never get two geologists to agree.

One of the undercurrents over many months has been the rivarlry between RPS and AMEC – two big beasts of the consultancy world.  RPS have been doing much of the work for Dart and AMEC for the two councils.  RPS have called AMEC’s work ‘entrenched,’ ‘unsubstantiated’ and ‘grossly exaggerated.’  AMEC have repeatedly requested information from RPS, never getting most of it.

Falkirk Council’s AMEC witness said it was still not clear there will be no significant harm to the environment and people, with Dart’s environment assessment still not in an acceptable state.  The two major concerns were the possibility of drawing down water from more than the coal seams and the potential for methane to escape from underground.

He said there had been many opportunities to do additional measurements during Dart’s test drilling but they had chosen not to.

Dart’s QC tried to link the AMEC man to yesterday’s ‘dangerous radical’ Prof Smythe – they had both given evidence at the Nirex nuclear repository inquiry (they never met);  they had similar opinions about Dart’s geological misunderstandings (they had never even spoken until this week).

This is our last day at the £4.05-for-a-cup-of-tea Incyra hotel, on Monday we start at 8am at Falkirk Stadium with video evidence from Australia on health impacts.