A government department is to appeal against a planning committee decision to reject a new strategy for dealing with the disposal of silt dredged from Peel marina.

Peel Town Commissioners has also lodged an appeal against a decision to extend the lifetime of a lagoon used to dewater and store 23,000m3 of sediment dredged from the marina in spring 2020 and 2021.

The government’s proposed strategy for dealing with the potentially toxic material was thrown into disarray at a planning committee hearing in January.

An application (25/90698/B) by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture to reuse treated silt in a remediation scheme at Snuff the Wind, or Cross Vein as it is also known, near Foxdale was thrown out on the casting vote of the chairman.

The proposal would have seen the transportation of sediment silt lagoon to the mine, treatment of it on-site, and the material used as a capping layer across 'the deads' to reduce surface run-off and the amount of heavy metal contaminants going into the River Neb catchment.

But concerns were raised about why alternatives had not been considered and about the impact of the 60-a-day movements of HGVs carrying silt from the dewatering lagoon to the mine and back.

At the same meeting, the planning committee approved the Department of Infrastructure’s retrospective application (24/00301/B) to allow the ‘temporary’ dewatering lagoon at Ballaterson Farm to continue until December 2027.

In its appeal, DEFA said concerns over the impact of HGV movements were not supported by the evidence and it described Cross Vein as ‘uniquely appropriate’ for the disposal of the silt.

In its appeal, Peel Town Commissioners said a strategy for disposing of the dredged should be approved before a termination date for the lagoon is set.

About 3,000 tonnes of silt sediment enters Peel Marina from the River Neb each year, containing contaminants from historical mining operations.