DAERA publishes responses to Mobuoy consultation
The Mobuoy Road waste site near Derry is one of Europe's largest illegal dumps, containing over 1 million tonnes of waste
DAERA has published a summary of responses to its public consultation on the draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy site.
The Mobuoy Road waste site near Derry is one of Europe's largest illegal dumps, containing over 1 million tonnes of waste.
The consultation, launched by Minister Andrew Muir on June 13, 2025, closed on October 2, 2025.
The draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy site was developed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) alongside specialist contaminated land experts and focuses on the long-term remediation of the site, in line with an industry standard process.
Minister Muir said: “This was a vitally important consultation providing valuable feedback and proving that there is an overwhelming desire to move forward towards a long-term remediation solution for Mobuoy.
“I remain fully committed to protecting the River Faughan and safeguarding drinking water in the North West. My thanks go to everyone who contributed to this consultation and attended NIEA’s engagement events.
“I am eager to progress remediation and intend to engage with local elected representatives in the weeks ahead to discuss the consultation outcome and proposed updated strategy.”
The strategy sets out several integrated remedial solutions to address the contamination issues at the Mobuoy site to support the protection of the environment and public health. NIEA’s assessment of responses has concluded that no fundamental changes are required to the proposed remediation techniques.
However, several areas for helpful clarification were identified, and NIEA is working with technical experts to refine these details ahead of publishing an updated strategy in the coming months. This updated strategy will be instrumental in progressing to the next stage and working towards delivery of long-term remediation of the site.
Environmental monitoring at the Mobuoy site continues, and further updates on both the remediation project and monitoring programme are available at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/mobuoy-remediation-project
The consultation responses summary report is available here: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-draft-remediation-strategy-mobuoy-site