Vesting required at Mobuoy dump before remediation can begin in five to seven years

“The most environmentally, socially and economically sustainable solution” to remediating the notorious Mobuoy dump on the outskirts of Derry is “not to dig all the material out” according to a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) official. 

In addition, because the Mobuoy site is not owned by DAERA, it will have to be vested before any remediation can proceed, in an estimated timescale of five to seven years.

The official was speaking at a media briefing in advance of two Environment Agency-led public consultation events in the city on DAERA’s ‘Mobuoy draft Remediation Strategy’.

The strategy proposes the removal of material only where the A6 road cuts across the corner of the Mobuoy site, and the sections where “hazzardous”  ‘tarry waste’ has been discovered. It is suspected the ‘tarry waste’ consists of dumped acetylene production byproducts. 

The official added: “The combination of solutions proposed in the consultation is the most sustainable solution.

“What is being proposed is a strategy that is going to be effective in protecting public health and the environment. It is not cost driven,” he said.

Addressing claims at the recent ‘How Toxic Is Mobuoy?’ public meeting in Derry contaminated groundwater was reaching the River Faughan in quantities above safe water levels, another DAERA official said detailed quantitative risk assessment based on over seven years of monitoring modelled [contaminated groundwater] was “likely reaching the river but there is huge dilution of the river and there is no detection of any impact on the river”. 

Sampling water at Mobuoy.

“There are all of the emergency procedures. We work closely with NI Water sharing information and managing that risk. There is no impact detected and we are talking about detecting at very, very low levels, way below drinking water standards and that testing continues,” the official added. 

A second official described as “scaremongering” the suggestion there was a “serious problem with drinking water” drawn from the river.

It also emerged the ‘permeable reactive barrier’ and  ‘biological cap’  - the remedial technologies proposed for Mobuoy - were at “concept stage”. 

A DAERA official confirmed: “Their lifespan will be drawn out in the detailed design. However, the ‘biological cap’, we know it will take a number of years for the planting aspect to establish, that is why an on-site water treatment works is proposed.”

The officials estimated it would take potentially five to seven years of engineering work onsite and potentially another 20 plus years for the Mobuoy site to be completely remediated back to its natural state. 

The publicly available estimated cost of remediating Mobuoy is £107 million. While a  final cost cannot be determined until the remediation strategy is agreed, to date £8 million has been spent on the site in terms of investigations and consultancy reports.

The drop-in public consultation events will take place at Eglinton Community Centre on Wednesday, September 3 and The Millennium Forum on Wednesday, September 10. Both will run from 12pm until 7pm. 

Among those present will be Environment Agency personnel working on the remediation of Mobuoy; members of its integrated consultancy team - TetraTech; the Drinking Water Inspectorate; NI Water; the Public Health Agency; Department for Infrastructure Roads; Loughs Agency; and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute.

Water sampling at the River Faughan.

In a press statement publicising the consultation events, a DAERA spokesperson said the consultation would provide “an important opportunity for officials to present and seek views on approaches designed to address the contamination issues at the Mobuoy site to support the protection of the environment and public health. 

'How Toxic is Mobuoy?' public meeting held in Derry

'Unmitigated disaster which is Mubuoy has been going on now for at least 15 years' - Dean Blackwood, Faughan Anglers Association

'Contaminated groundwater reaching River Faughan in quantities above safe water quality levels'

'How Toxic is Mobuoy?' public meeting in Derry

“These are set out  in a draft Remediation Strategy which has been developed based on the best  balance of environmental, social, and economic factors. 

“A detailed risk assessment, drawing on extensive site investigations with over seven  years of monitoring, provides a robust scientific basis for a detailed appraisal of a  range of remediation options, and subsequently the development of the draft  Remediation Strategy. 

“The consultation provides an opportunity for people to give  their views on the draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy site.”

More  information on the draft Mobuoy Remediation strategy can be found here: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-draft-remediation-strategy-mobuoy-site.

Responses to the strategy should be submitted by Thursday, October 2, 2025, when the public consultation closes.