Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 Feb 1996

Vol. 461 No. 4

Written Answers. - Dumping of Spoilage.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

223 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Marine the conditions outlined for dumping of spoilage from Mornington, County Meath where dredging is being carried out; the locations being considered for the final disposal of the material; the effect, if any, of this matter on the marine environment; and whether a landfill option is being considered to protect industry. [2956/96]

Minister for the Marine (Mr. Barrett)

Application for licences under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, were received in my Department recently from Drogheda Harbour Commissioners in respect of annual maintenance dredging works and disposal of dredge spoil resulting from the proposed capital dredging project at Mornington. A similar procedure is applied in respect of each type of project.

The Oslo Commission guidelines for the management of dredged material are taken into consideration in the disposal of dredge spoil. Under the guidelines surveys of both the dredge spoil and the dump site may be undertaken at the expense of the applicant. If the proposed site is unsuitable for any reason alternative sites are investigated, and if the material itself is found to be unsuitable for dumping at sea, the application is refused.

In making the application the applicant, in this case Drogheda Harbour Commissioners, is obliged to give details of the proposal disposal site; the quantity and constitutents of the material to be dumped; the dumping vessel; why no suitable land-based alternatives exist.

Applications are examined by the Department's Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC) which is composed of a chemist, biologists and an oceanographer from the Marine Institute, a marine surveyor and an engineer from this Department and a biologist from the Central Fisheries Board. Each application is examined to ensure that the disposal site is acceptable from a fisheries and navigational point of view; the quantity and constituents of the waste are such that they will cause no harm in the marine environment; there are no suitable land-based alternatives; and the vessel to be used in disposal of the waste is properly licensed and certified.

Following careful consideration of Drogheda Harbour Commissioners' application, a licence for the disposal of dredge spoil resulting from annual maintenance dredging work was granted with effect from 1 January 1996. The dump site is situated at the Boyne Bar.

As there are extensive fishing grounds in the vicinity of Drogheda Harbour, problems arose in identifying a suitable dump site for dredge spoil from Mornington. Officials from the Department have been actively seeking a site which will not impact on fisheries and have recently identified a site which has some possibilities. Drogheda Harbour Commissioners have been given details of the suggested site and confirmation of their interest in that site is awaited. It is not possible to say if the site being considered will be suitable until an Environmental Impact Study has been carried out. Land reclamation and beach nourishment options, which could reduce the scale of the proposed dumping at sea operation quite significantly, are also being actively investigated.

Drogheda Harbour Commissioners are currently preparing an EIS in respect of the Mornington project. They will be required to include in the EIS a study of both the waste to be dumped at sea and the dump site to ascertain the potential impact of the dumping on the marine environment and on fisheries. The onus is on the Drogheda Harbour Commissioners to prove that dumping on this site will not impact on the environment and fisheries. On receipt of this study the application will be assessed further by my Department in consultation with all relevant parties.