AN investigation following a fire at a Wrexham waste plant could result in prosecution if serious breaches are found, politicians have said.

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates and Johnstown councillor David Bithell held talks with senior Natural Resources Wales officers recently after the blaze at Hafod Quarry in late May.

They have now issued a joint statement to residents after asking for an update into the investigation launched by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) into possible breaches by site operator Enovert.

Mr Skates, the local Member of the Senedd, and Cllr Bithell - Wrexham Council's lead member for the environment - said: "After this incident, we both called for a full inquiry to take place and for the site not to resume operations until it had concluded.

"However, NRW said that was not possible.

"When we subsequently held urgent talks with NRW last month we were told there would be a thorough investigation into Enovert's adherence to their permit and whether conditions have been breached, with the results being made public as soon as possible.

"NRW were very clear that if any breaches of the company's permit are discovered then there will be consequences.

"We also made our position clear - we want to see tightened monitoring and we, like the local residents we represent, want action to reassure people that their concerns are being heard and addressed."

Mr Skates and Cllr Bithell contacted NRW on Friday for an update on the investigation and put a number of questions raised by residents to the operator.

In its responses, NRW has said its investigation is looking at whether any conditions contained within the environmental permit were breached, but not the cause of the fire.

A spokesman also said: "The planning process decides the location of these types of operations, so are not a consideration of NRWs investigation."

On the question of when the investigation is going to be concluded, NRW said: "We are working on this as quickly as we can, but it is very difficult to put a timescale on the investigation as different threads are being explored and it is important we carry out a thorough and robust investigation.

"The current Covid-19 restrictions are also factors that we need to consider, for example when taking statements or interviewing.

"Once the investigation has finished, we will share the outcome with you, the liaison group and the local community."

Mark Silvester, Enovert CEO, said: "Enovert has been fully cooperative with Natural Resources Wales’ investigations into our Hafod landfill site following the recent incident of fire, and we await the outcome of that investigation.”

Asked what action will be taken if any serious breaches are identified, the organisation responded: "There are a number of different enforcement sanctions available to us.

"For more minor permit breaches, we can issue advice and guidance or warnings.

"For the more serious offences we can issue formal cautions or prosecute.

"We can also suspend permit conditions if we believe that an operator cannot comply or has not complied.

"We do have a robust enforcement governance process to ensure that our policies and procedures have been followed in our decision making."

NRW stated it could not comment on whether any permit breaches have been identified at this stage in its investigation.

Mr Skates and Cllr Bithell added: "We wanted to share this with the public in order to update local residents.

"We await the results of the investigation and will maintain regular contact with NRW to ensure people know what is happening.

"In the meantime, residents can report environmental incidents on NRW's 24-hour incident line 03000 653000."

The Hafod Quarry site is permitted to receive a range of non-hazardous biodegradable wastes such as residual waste from waste transfer stations, building and demolition wastes, mineral wastes such as excavation material from development sites and household waste.

Based on 2019 input, most of the waste (27 per cent) comes from Wrexham (not council waste), with 21 per cent from Merseyside; 16 per cent from Cheshire and 12 per cent from Shropshire.