Clean-up of illegal Derry waste dump could cost £100m

The cost of cleaning up a huge illegal waste dump on the outskirts of Derry could top £100m, the Environment Minister has warned.

When details of the massive dump at Mobuoy Road at Campsie were first revealed publicly in 2013, it was described as the largest illegal dump ever found in Ireland.

The then Environment Minister Alex Attwood (pictured) said the scale of ‘unlawful waste activity’ was ‘immense and appalling’ and dated back at least until 2009.

It is understood an estimated one million tonnes of rubbish had been dumped illegally at the site.

A number of people have been charged with criminal offences in connection with the illegal dumping which centres around a site owned by a company called City Industrial Waste Ltd.

The current Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan has warned the clean-up figure could rise to as much as £100m.

In response to a question in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Durkan outlined the ‘best case’ and ‘worst case’ scenarios when it came to the clean-up of the Mobuoy site, which runs alongside the River Faughan, a key supplier of drinking water to Derry.

He said his department had identified and shortlisted remediation options for cleaning up the contamination.

Mr Durkan said the options would be subject to detailed evaluation and integrated into a remediation strategy once the risk assessment to protect the River Faughan was completed over the coming months.

“At this stage, best case and worst case cost estimates have been provided for each remediation option.

“The minimum estimated costs reflect those for the best case scenario where the remediation option is containment; these costs are in the region of £20 million.

“The maximum estimated costs reflect those for the worst case scenario where the remediation option is to excavate and dispose of the waste, these costs are in excess of £100 million.

“It is important to note that these remediation options need to be further assessed.

“My department will be refining the cost estimates with a fully costed clean-up strategy developed over the coming months.

“The key priority of this strategy for my department is to protect the environment,” added Mr Durkan.

Community groups in the area around Mobuoy Road recently called for a public inquiry into how the illegal dumping was allowed to happen for so long.