THE European Commission is to put claims about the environmental impact of the £1bn Pembroke Power Station under the microscope.

Last year Friends of the Earth (FOE) Cymru complained to the commission detailing the ‘failure of the UK to comply with EU law’ regarding its approvals for the gas fired power station.

The commission has now asked for clarification regarding the claim that the facility was given planning permission without proper assessment of the potential effects on the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

It is seeking clarification regarding impacts of extracting water and discharging large quantities of warmer water into the SAC, plus the cumulative impact of the proposal, along with other projects around the SAC.

FOE Cymru has since sent letters to Environment Agency Wales and Assembly Minister Jane Davidson asking that no operational permit be granted while the commission’s investigation is on-going.

A request that the Welsh Assembly Government call-in the application has also been made.

Gordon James, director of FOE Cymru said: “‘Seeking clarification’ is EU-speak for smelling a rat, and if its initial sniff is borne out by the UK’s response, as we are convinced it will be, then a formal infringement procedure should follow.”

But Labour AM Alun Davies has hit out at what he sees as attempts to further delay construction, saying: “This complaint has already gone around the houses.

“Despite efforts to halt this investment in Pembroke-shire, citing environmental concerns, both Pembroke-shire County Council and the Environment Minister were content that the matter was being handled effectively by the Environment Agency.”

An RWE npower spokesman said: “The secretary of state for energy and climate change granted†consent for the construction in February 2009†after a thorough and robust determination process, which included consultation with the Environment Agency regarding operational aspects of the project.† “We are continuing to work closely with the Environment Agency to ensure they have the information they need in order to make their decision regarding the operational environmental permit.”