§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the blockade by the Greenpeace ship Moby Dick of the tanker Mancunium, due to be loaded with sewage sludge for dumping at sea, at the Slowhill Copse sewage works at Marchwood and about Her Majesty's Government's policy on the dumping of sewage sludge at sea.
§ Mr. HowardOn 23 May 1989, a vessel operated by Greenpeace UK Ltd. obstructed the departure of a vessel loaded with sewage sludge from Slowhill Copse sewage works of the Southern water authority for disposal at sea. Following an application to the High Court, an injunction was granted to the Southern water authority restraining Greenpeace from this or similar action.
I deplore action of this sort which in this case could itself have caused significant environmental problems. At present the United Kingdom disposes at sea each year of about 30 per cent. of a total of 1.2 million dry tonnes of sewage sludge. The basis of our policy in this area, as for other wastes, is to select the best practicable environmental option for each waste stream.
89WIn the case of sea disposal, dumping operations require approval from my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and his colleagues in Scotland and Northern Ireland and a licence is granted only where it is clear that no practicable alternative on land is available and it can be shown that there is no risk to the marine environment.