Plans for silt disposal at former mine submitted

The application focuses on the site of a former mine near Foxdale in the parish of Patrick

Plans to transport sediment dredged from a Manx harbour to the site of a former mine for disposal have been put forward.

It marks the second phase of a project to deal with tonnes of silt containing heavy metals and other contaminants removed from Peel Harbour to maintain access to berths in the marina.

The application by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture covers its transportation to Cross Vein near Foxdale, the creation of facilities to treat it, and its use in filling in eroded areas at the site.

The material would be transported from a silt lagoon created in 2020 in a field on the outskirts of the town to accommodate and dry out the contaminated material.

That site was designed to hold about 44,000 tonnes of silt, with an estimated 3,000 dredged from the harbour each year.

In August, the department applied for permission to extend the use of lagoon until the end of 2027 to allow the second phase of the project to be established before the land is restored.

The silt lagoon has been in operation on the outskirts of Peel since 2020

The latest plans include the construction of a settlement pond, temporary treatment plant and facilities for the workers, as well as an access point, drainage ditches and fencing.

In its application, the department said the treated material would applied to the area of waste rock at the site, known as the "deads" of the mine, to provide a "capping layer".

That was designed to "reduce surface run-off and leaching of the underlying heavy metal impacted soils currently at the surface".

The growth of groundcover over the area over time would protect it from weather such as heavy rain fall as well as "enabling new heathland habitats to be established", the document added.