Plans to dump potentially-contaminated silt dredged from Peel marina in a pit excavated near Poortown quarry have created a bit of a stink.
The works were carried out over the weekend without planning consent. Emergency powers under the Public Health Act are being sought for the scheme which the Department of Infrastructure described as a ‘temporary’ storage facility.
Vice chairman of the German Parish Commissioners John Kennaugh said the situation had ‘severely damaged’ the trust built up with the DoI over agreements to transfer services to local authorities.
A public meeting has been called by the board whose chairman Matthew Wadsworth said there was a need for ‘open and clear dialogue’ with residents.
He said the transfer of services should have taken effect on April 1 but the board had yet to sign the agreement and had only just received the final paperwork which it was due to review at its meeting last night. He said: ‘We will be scrutinising it in a lot more detail in the light of events over the weekend. It’s a very delicate situation.’
The DoI confirmed that dredging will get under way next week to remove up to 18,000 tonnes of silt from Peel marina.
It said excavated material will be transported to the site near to Poortown quarry, where engineering measures are being put in place to prevent the surrounding environment being contaminated.
The DoI, working in partnership with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, says disposing of the silt on land provided a safer and more controlled solution to dumping it at sea.
It said a planning application for the temporary storage facility is being prepared and it is seeking emergency powers under the Public Health Act 1990 as there is currently no landfill site licensed to take the silt on a permanent basis.
Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK said: ‘This work is urgently needed.
‘Commercial, environmental and reputational concerns over the disposal of silt at sea have resulted in us looking at land-based options.
‘I must stress this is only a temporary measure and we will continue to press for a permanent solution.’
He said a special membrane would be installed at the Poortown site, while a layer of sand and clay would provide an additional barrier to any leaching of the deposited material.
Pipework would take any run-off to settlement tanks.
Professionals have advised the ‘vast majority’ of heavy metal contaminants would remain bound with the silt, he added.
Mr Gawne said a meeting had taken place to discuss concerns raised by German Commissioners.