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FISHY UNDERTAKINGS DON'T HOLD WATER A transport campaign group has challenged recent claims by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) that proposed monitoring of River Tyne water quality and fish stocks will protect the River Tyne ecosystem. The group claims that on the contrary, the PTA's proposals will do nothing to protect the environment from the pollution caused by the proposed new Tyne road tunnel. The Tyne Crossings Alliance argues that if the tunnel construction were allowed to go ahead, and the water quality became unacceptable, the Environmental Agency would be unable to correct the situation. The PTA proposes to dredge a large trench in the River to accommodate sections of prefabricated tunnel which would then be floated out and dropped into the bed of the River. However, if River pollution caused by the dredging were to rise above acceptable limits (and these are debatable) it is unlikely that work would stop. Alliance spokesperson Paul Winch, said: "If, as is likely, the river becomes polluted then the damage will have been done. The dredging work would be likely to continue since the trench cannot be left uncovered. Recent successes in building the river's fish stocks would have been to no avail, and the fragile river ecosystem would revert to Square One. "If this disaster should occur, what would local people have left? A tunnel that would make their lives a misery, and lots of dead fish. "There is a whole raft of further problems arising from the tunnel proposal including the need to dispose of the polluted material. Some of this is planned to be stored in the middle of an urban conurbation. More could go for landfill, with the ongoing ground water contamination uncertainties which always follow such practice. "This ill-conceived scheme has to be ditched now, before lasting damage is done. The PTA should focus resources where its real mandate lies - on public transport. The PTA's current philosophy of promoting yet more car dependency is a betrayal of people and principles which the PTA is supposed to represent. "The Regional Assembly also has a responsibility to plan for a reduction in traffic volume - not the increase in car numbers and congestion which this scheme would generate. We hope the Inspector will accept our submissions on these various matters at the forthcoming Public Inquiry, and reject the tunnel proposal".
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