A government plan to reuse dredged silt from Peel Marina to help restore the land around a disused mine is moving forward, with two related planning applications currently under consideration.

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) is seeking permission to extend the use and delay the decommissioning of a temporary lagoon near Ballaterson Farm, where silt dredged from the marina is currently stored. The lagoon was originally granted planning permission in 2020, with the consent due to expire in March 2024. A new application was submitted in February, just one day before the original approval expired.

The revised proposal seeks to keep the lagoon and associated pipeline in place until 31 December 2027, extending the decommissioning deadline by one year. If approved, the move allow for the silt to be removed and transported to a new location for reuse, without breaching planning conditions.

Approximately 3,000 tonnes of sediment enter Peel Marina each year from the River Neb. The material contains traces of heavy metals, particularly lead, linked to historical mining activity in the area, including at the now-disused Cross Vein Mine near Foxdale.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) has submitted a separate planning application to use the dewatered silt to help restore the land around the Cross Vein Mine site. Known locally as Snuff the Wind, the mine has been closed to the public since 2020 due to concerns about toxic waste being disturbed.

If approved, the proposal would see treated silt transported by tipper truck to the former mine site. There, the material would be stabilised using agents such as cement, lime or pulverised fuel ash to prevent contaminants from leaching into the environment.

A spokesman for the Department of Infrastructure said: ‘The treatment that the material undergoes ensures that it will be safe to be reused at Cross Vein Mine.’

An environmental impact assessment submitted with the infrastructure department's application to extend the life of the lagoon last year outlined three potential disposal options for the silt: landfill, export for off-island disposal, or reuse in land restoration. The preferred option is to use the material for capping and landscaping the mine site, which still contains heavy metal spoil heaps.

The assessment stated: ‘The re-use of dredged material for restoring land within the River Neb catchment is the preferred option because it would support a long-term plan to reduce metal concentrations in the marina’s sediment by addressing the contamination problem at its sources including the former Cross Vein Mine.’

The temporary lagoon was initially intended as a short-term solution, but now stores an estimated 44,000 tonnes of silt. A similar facility used in 2015 on the Poortown Road was also intended to be temporary, but remained in place for longer than expected.

A wider programme is ongoing to address metal pollution in the River Neb catchment, with the long-term aim of reducing contamination entering Peel Marina. Both planning applications must be approved for the Cross Vein Mine proposal to proceed.