(2) what policies his Department operates on the disposal of dredged materials;
(3) how many tonnes of dredged material were disposed in and around Whitsand Bay in each year since 1997; how much such material he expects to be disposed of there in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what licences to dispose of dredged material in Whitsand Bay have been issued;
(5) if he will make a statement on the disposal of dredged materials in Whitsand Bay;
(6) what the origin is of the dredged material for which a licence has been issued for disposal in Whitsand Bay.
The Rame Head disposal site has received dredged material from the Plymouth area for over 100 years. A disposal licence under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) is required prior to any disposal taking place. No licence would be issued until the impact of disposing of the material had been fully assessed. The decision would account for Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on the precautionary principle.
The majority of the dredged material disposed of at Rame Head is sourced from the Devonport Naval Base on the River Tamar. However, Cattewater Harbour and ABP Millbay Docks and Lincombe Boatyard have also used the site. The following tables show the licences issued since 1997 and the amounts disposed of to the disposal site. Further historical information is available on request.
The weight of evidence currently to hand supports the view that the continued disposal of dredged material to the Rame Head site in Whitsand Bay is an environmentally acceptable one, subject to licence conditions and oversight of the activities.
Year issued Licence Id DC file reference Licensee 1997 5040/97/0 5040 Maunsell Maritime 1997 5323/97/0 5323 Defence Estates 1997 5367/97/0 5367 Ministry of Defence 1999 30522/99/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 1999 30711/99/0 5895 Stride Management Ltd. 2000 30425/00/0 5117 Jacobs Babtie (Exeter) 2000 30711/00/0 5895 Stride Management Ltd. 2000 30820/00/0 5962 Marina Developments Ltd. 2000 31023/00/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 2001 30425/01/0 5117 Jacobs Babtie (Exeter) 2001 31023/01/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 2001 31161/01/0 6227 Base Services Department 2001 31381/01/0 6445 Jacobs Babtie (Exeter) 2002 31831/02/0 6656 Royal National Lifeboat Institution 2002 31635/02/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 2003 31831/03/0 6656 Royal National Lifeboat Institution 2003 31958/03/0 6729 Associated British Ports 2003 32032/03/0 6763 Defence Estates 2003 32243/03/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 2003 31635/03/0 5423 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners 2004 31958/04/0 6729 Associated British Ports 2004 32032/04/0 6763 Defence Estates 2004 32323/04/0 6988 Defence Estates 2004 32433/04/0 7066 Westminster Dredging Co. Ltd. 2005 31868/05/0 6676 Winters Marine Ltd. 2005 32433/05/0 7066 Westminster Dredging Co. Ltd. 2006 33271/06/0 7778 Cattewater Harbour Commissioners
Total disposal 1997 327,364 1998 75,880 1999 64,031 2000 114,859 2001 1,095,071 2002 11,984 2003 94,280 2004 241,704 2005 140,321 2006 1— 1 None reported. Source: Defra Marine Consent Management System (MCMS) and double-checked against the OSPAR disposal returns.