MMO on Exmouth Marina: Dredging Suspension Extended Until June

The Marine Maritime Organisation (MMO) recently suspended a marine licence for maintenance dredging of Exmouth Marina and disposal of related materials at the Sprey Point disposal site.

They confirmed yesterday that the suspension has been extended until June 14 as “evidence has been provided to MMO to suggest that material may be migrating from the disposal site onto adjacent amenity beaches.”

“A condition of the original licence states there must be no dredging (and therefore no disposal) between 1 June to 31 August inclusive in any year,” MMO said in its latest release.

MMO granted a marine licence in August 2017 for maintenance dredging of Exmouth Marina and disposal of materials at the Sprey Point disposal site.

Dredging began in late February 2018 and concerns were raised by users of the beach that black-silt like material was being washed ashore following the disposal of dredged material.

MMO provided an update on 15 February in which it addressed a number of issues raised by local residents.

On 26 February, MMO announced that it had suspended the marine licence for dredging at Exmouth Marina and subsequent disposal activities at Sprey Point while it investigated the source of the material seen on Teignmouth Beach.

On 6 March, MMO clarified that the suspension of the marine licence remains in place while it continues its investigations and provided further information on these.

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