While there was good news this week for a Co Tyrone firm that is undertaking a quarrying equipment contract in far-away Kurdistan, the NI Environment Minister Edwin Poots has expressed his disappointment at the suspension of an important scheme that previously reduced quarrying costs.

He said the Northern Ireland Aggregates Levy Credit Scheme would cease from 1 December 2010 after the Treasury announced the suspension as a result of a European General Court ruling in September.

The scheme currently allows a 'levy exemption' for quarry operators with a rebate of 80% of the aggregates levy, which currently equates to a rebate of £1.60 per tonne, once they sign an agreement to carry out environmental improvements identified through periodic audits and to timescales set by the Department.

The Minister said: "I am extremely disappointed at the decision to suspend the Aggregates Levy Credit Scheme. This scheme has resulted in significant environmental improvements being made within the quarry industry.

"The decision has serious consequences for the economy and local industry at a time when the quarry and construction industries are already facing severe financial pressures.

"I will be discussing this matter with my colleagues in the Executive and pursuing this issue with the Treasury in order to help those most affected by the decision and to try to have the Scheme reinstated as soon as possible," he said noting that the Levy was introduced in 2002 and is an environmental tax on the commercial extraction of aggregate in the United Kingdom.

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The rate is currently £2.00 per tonne. It was introduced to address the environmental costs associated with quarrying that were not already covered by regulation including, inter alia, noise, dust, visual intrusion, loss of amenity and damage to biodiversity.

The levy aims to bring about environmental benefits by making the price of aggregates reflect these environmental costs more accurately and to encourage the use of alternative sources such as recycled materials and certain waste products. For the purposes of the levy, aggregate is deemed to be sand, gravel and rock, with some exceptions.

Also highlighting the issue, Diane Dodds, the DUP MEP, met recently with Vice-President of the European Commission, Joaquín Almunia, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and afterwards said: "At present our local aggregates industry is facing a major crisis with the possibility of the aggregates levy credit scheme being suspended in the Province while a full review by the European Commission is carried out.

"There are almost 4,000 people employed in the aggregates sector in the Province, producing 400 million GBP worth of products a year. The withdrawal of this scheme could prove to be devastating for not only the aggregates industry, but has the potential to have a huge knock-on effect on our construction industry," she said, noting that it has been estimated that the suspension of this levy will cost the public sector construction budget an additional £25m.

Meanwhile, the better industry news is that NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has announced that Cookstown-based Anaconda Equipment International has secured a £100,000 contract in Kurdistan.

Anaconda specialises in the design and manufacture of mobile screening equipment as well as a wide range of wheeled, tracked and static conveying solutions for the mining, quarry and waste recycling industries.

See: NI Quarry Sector Crisis Tackled In EC

See: NI Digs-Up Business Boost In Kurdistan

(BMcC/GK)