TOXIC radioactive waste from across the country could be stored and treated at Hinkley Point A under proposals drawn up by the Government.

But despite the highly contentious nature of the plans, neither West Somerset Council, Stogursey residents or Sedgemoor District Council have been directly asked for their views.

The Government quango the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) has published "credible options" for intermediate waste disposal and the treatment of fuel element debris, which district councillors said they had only discovered by chance this week.

The NDA is looking to reduce costs by minimising the number of sites dealing with waste treatment and storage from decommissioned nuclear power station sites run by its contractor Magnox.

A long list of 22 options for the storage of intermediate waste has already been whittled down to eight options, with one involving the transport of such waste from Dungeness in Kent to Hinkley Point.

The long list for the treatment of fuel element debris originally stood at 14, but has been reduced to nine options, four of which involve Hinkley A taking on waste from either Sizewell A in Suffolk or Oldbury in Gloucestershire or from both.

The NDA said it had spoken to the Hinkley Site Stakeholders' Group - which includes district councillors from both West Somerset and Sedgemoor - about the options back in February.

Bill Hamilton, head of stakeholder relations at the NDA, said West Somerset councillors Sue Goss, Maureen Smith and Paul Grierson had been at the meeting, together with their Sedgemoor colleagues.

One of the councillors on the stakeholder group disputed his claim and told the Free Press a shortlist of 'credible options' was not put forward until March and nothing had been said about a deadline for inviting comments on the options until the end of last week.

Mr Hamilton was adamant no "proposals" were on the table, only "options", and said the NDA was being open and transparent about its waste disposal strategy by "engaging" with local authorities.

A full public consultation would only be held once the NDA had whittled down its credible options to either "one or two" preferred options.

But West Somerset district council held an emergency briefing for councillors this week, who maintained they had been left in the dark about the finer details of the NDA's plans.

Cllr Tim Taylor, leader of West Somerset Council, said: "We are very concerned that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has not alerted West Somerset Council, the host district council for Hinkley Point, about its consultation on options for future storage of nuclear waste which involve Hinkley Point.

"This consultation closes on June 9 so West Somerset Council is having to respond at very short notice without being able to consult more widely across the district.

"West Somerset Council's cabinet will consider this matter at its meeting on June 5, which will be open to the public, in order to finalise the council's response.

"It is very important that the people of West Somerset in general and residents in the parish of Stogursey, in particular, are offered the opportunity to air their views on such an important issue.

"I have no doubt that our response to the NDA will set out our very serious concerns about the consultation process and that our councillors are likely to express strong concerns about any option for additional storage of nuclear waste at Hinkley Point," Cllr Taylor said.

But Mr Hamilton was adamant the NDA was not currently taking part in a public consultation on its 'credible options' but had simply chosen to publish them to be transparent about its thinking process.

"If we get to the point in the process that we have a concrete proposal then there will be a full consultation.

"It is wrong to say the consultation should be now because there is no proposal," Mr Hamilton said.

He said the NDA was "proud of its engagement system" and the issue of waste storage and disposal had been on the agenda of every Hinkley Stakeholders' Site Group meeting for the last 18 months.

He accused Cllr Taylor of "misunderstanding the NDA's approach" and claimed district councillors had been "fully engaged through the stakeholders group".

Somerset County Council had been involved in discussions with the NDA about the credible options, Mr Hamilton said.

A well placed council source, who asked not to be named, said that despite Mr Hamilton's claims, it was "strange" neither Sedgemoor or West Somerset district councils were aware of

its shortlist of options until this week.

"I am appalled the NDA has not seen fit to even consider contacting the potential host for this project or asked for their views.

"We need to send a message back to the NDA saying that enough is enough!

"Deal with the waste where it was produced and don't transport if around the whole country in the hope that it gets lost along the way.

"This isn't any old waste - it's the most toxic waste known and West Somerset will have to deal with almost 4,000 tonnes of it from Hinkley C alone. We don't want any more!" the source said.

West Somerset Council is likely to strongly object to many of the NDA's options when it meets next month.

Cabinet members are understood to be aghast at the increased risk posed to local people by transporting waste from elsewhere in the UK to Hinkley and angered by the lack of direct consultation with the NDA.

Officers are also believed to have told councillors the 'credible options' are far "more than simply a list of ideas" put forward by the NDA.

Cllr Taylor added: "I am expecting a very serious and possibly lively debate during our meeting of cabinet on June 5, on options which may affect the district for many years to come.

"Any member of the public wishing to make comments on the options should email them to [email protected]">[email protected] by Sunday, June 9."

The NDA is planning to hold a stakeholders workshop in July, with a paper outlining the preferred options due to be published in November.

Planning permission for the storage and treatment units could be sought before the end of March next year.