Material dredged from Ardersier Port, Hopeman Harbour and Burghead Harbour: EIR release

Information requested

We've noticed two Hopper vessels the Bengel and Pallieter operating just off the Burghead coastline.

Could you please confirm what they are dropping into the seabed off the Burghead harbour coastline, and confirm there are no pollutants or heavy metal contaminants if it is silt dredged from the Invergordon or Ardersier basin.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

The deposit of dredged materials is licensable marine activity defined by Section 21 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”), for which a Marine Licence is required from the Scottish Ministers. Marine Directorate – Licensing Operations Team (“MD-LOT”) is responsible for determining Marine Licence applications on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

In determining an application for a Marine Licence, Scottish Ministers must have regard to the need to protect the environment, protect human health and to prevent interference with legitimate use of the sea. Regulatory authorisations must also be made in line with Scotland’s National Marine Plan.

There are currently active Marine Licences for the deposit, at Burghead deposit site, of material dredged from Ardersier Port, Hopeman Harbour and Burghead Harbour. Any dredged material being deposited at an authorised deposit site under licence has been sampled, and tested by an ISO17025 accredited laboratory to confirm its suitability for deposit at sea and to reduce the risk of harm to the marine environment. Analysis includes physical characterisation and testing for metals, organotins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organohalogens. The requirement helps to ensure there are no adverse impacts to the environment as a result of the activity.

Additional information provided out with the EIRs

Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to advise you that you can access Marine Licences at the following link:- marine.gov.scot

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.