Court of Appeal LLW decision

18 January 2012

Augean plc

("Augean" or "the Group")

Court of Appeal LLW decision

Augean plc, one of the UK's market leaders in the management of hazardous waste, is pleased to confirm that, following a hearing at the Court of Appeal into the legal merits of the decision by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to grant planning permission for the disposal of Low Level Waste (LLW) at the East Northants Resources Management Facility (ENRMF), the appeal by the claimant has today been rejected by the Court.

Augean is pleased that the presiding Lords Justice have found no merit in the claimant's legal arguments and have upheld the judgment made in the High Court in November 2011. The challenge was made on a narrow point of law and did not relate to the safety or the policy merits of the scheme. Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused and a further request to refer the case to the European Court of Justice was rejected. Whilst the Court of Appeal refused permission it remains possible for the claimant to apply directly to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal.

ENRMF provides a nationally valuable site that is permitted, designed and operated to deliver urgently needed safe disposal capacity for consignors producing LLW and recent disposal activities have allowed operational procedures to be thoroughly tested. The Group will continue to develop the market for LLW disposal and commence commercial operations at ENRMF during the first half of 2012.

Reacting to the judgement, Paul Blackler, CEO commented:

"We are delighted that the Court has found in favour of our application and are reassured that the integrity of the Environmental Impact Assessment and its scope has been reaffirmed. We look forward to developing the commercial opportunities this now presents for Augean whilst remaining mindful of the concerns of the local community."

The Board is considering the commercial implications of the judgement and anticipated disposal activities and will provide an update to its forecast for 2012 in the pre-close trading update which will be published by the Group on 27th January.

-Ends-

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