Consultation on the draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy Site

Overview

Summary / Overview

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is seeking views on the  draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy site. The draft Remediation Strategy is designed to address the contamination issues at the Mobuoy site to support the protection of the environment and public health.

The Mobuoy site spans 46 hectares and is located on the outskirts of Derry/Londonderry. The site is located  adjacent to the River Faughan, a designated ‘Area of Special Scientific Interest’ (ASSI) and is a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ (SAC). The site is approximately 2km upstream from the Cloghole drinking water abstraction point.

Contamination of the land and groundwater has been caused by the deposit of waste, with no barriers or other management measures in place to prevent pollution of the environment.

The draft Remediation Strategy to deliver the long-term remediation of the Mobuoy site, based on the best balance of environmental, social, and economic factors, forms the basis of this consultation.

Consultation Description

This consultation presents the draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy Road waste site.

The Strategy has been developed following a large amount of scientific investigative work, including extensive and detailed ground investigation work, water quality testing, landfill gas testing, and a range of other environmental tests, to understand the amount and type of waste present at the site and determine the impact of contamination from the waste on the local environment.

In developing the strategy, a Remediation Options Appraisal was carried out to evaluate the suitability of a wide range of potential remediation solutions that could be used to address the contamination issues at the site. The remedial options that were technically viable at the site were assessed against environmental, social, and economic criteria, to identify the most suitable and sustainable remediation solution(s) for the site and it is these solutions that have been presented in the draft Remediation Strategy.

Why your views matter

Safeguarding public health, ensuring safe drinking water, and reducing the environmental impact of the Mobuoy Road waste site are of paramount importance. Any remediation will affect the local environment and surrounding communities in the long term. Therefore, it is important that for stakeholders, residents, businesses, and environmental groups, are given the opportunity to provide input.

Following this consultation, all responses will be carefully considered and assist in the next steps towards finalising a remediation strategy for the Mobuoy site.