Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Nov 2003

Vol. 574 No. 1

Written Answers. - Dumping at Sea.

Dan Boyle

Ceist:

161 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his Department's plan for the disposal of spoil from the dredging of Waterford Harbour; the timescale, budget and locations for dumping that are planned for the project; and the environmental impact assessments which have been carried out. [26341/03]

Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. D. Ahern):

Responsibility for maintenance of the navigation channels at Waterford Port, including the planning of dredging operations which are required from time to time and the funding thereof, rests with Port of Waterford Company. All dumping at sea arising from such dredging works requires a permit, under the Dumping at Sea Act 1996, from my Department.

In April of this year, my Department received an application from Waterford Port Company for the disposal at sea of over 2.5 million tonnes of dredged material from maintenance dredging requirements for the next three to four years. The application was accompanied by copies of analyses of the sediment to be dumped, detailed mathematical modelling and other surveys of the dumpsite. The dumpsite is located in the vicinity of Hook Head and has been in use by the Port of Waterford Company and the New Ross Port Company since 1996.

The application is now at an advanced stage following a consultation process which included the publication of a notice of the application in a local newspaper inviting objections from anyone who wished to do so. The proposal has been fully examined by my Department's marine licence vetting committee, MLVC, whose expertise includes navigation, engineering, biology, oceanography and fishing. While satisfied from the scientific evidence to hand that there should be no negative impacts from the proposed project, the MLVC recommended that an ongoing monitoring programme be put in place to assess such matters as impacts on lobsters and fishing in general, and also on the Hook Head candidate special area of conservation.

The Port of Waterford Company was issued with a permit to dispose of 502,500 tonnes of spoil during the period July to October 2003, with a condition that monitoring as detailed above be carried out. The final report from this monitoring programme has recently been submitted to the Department and is currently being assessed by MLVC. It is understood that the port company wishes to carry out further dredging works in December and the results of the monitoring carried out will be taken into consideration prior to any further dumping at sea being allowed.