BOSSES at Arpley landfill are making moves to rescue their waste management licence from the clutches of the Environment Agency with yet another planning application for the site.

Waste Recycling Group (WRG), on behalf of 3C Waste, has applied to borough council planning bosses for the construction and operation of a leachate treatment facility.

The move follows enforcement action by the Environment Agency over the landfill's high levels of leachate highly-polluting waters created in the tip which included the threat of the company losing its waste management licence.

A deadline of six months has been set by the agency to solve the problem and the new planning application which follows three, as-yet-undetermined, extension schemes is seen as the company's response.

The proposals involve an extension to the existing leachate management scheme through two new storage tanks, each sealed off and fitted with odour control systems, and a control building.

WRG intends to discharge the final effluent to North West Water's treatment works at Great Sankey using an existing pipeline under the River Mersey.

An application report says that the potential for an adverse environmental impact on surface water and ground-water would be limited by the relatively small volumes of leachate handled at any one time.