On 7th March 2011, specialist marine and civils contractor Land and Water Services Ltd (LAWS) mobilised a bespoke dredging team to Premier’s Falmouth Marina in Cornwall to undertake a particularly awkward improvement project that involved the installation of tubular mooring piles, new pontoons and the removal of 22,300m3 of contaminated sediments. Following difficulties experienced with a previously licensed dredging technique, Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd. was commissioned in 2006 to renew and amend Premier’s licence for dredging work and is now administering the contract on Premier’s behalf.
Contaminated Sediments , including residues of the compound Tri-Butyl-Tin (formerly used in anti-fouling paints, but banned from use in the marine environment in the 1980’s due to its high toxicity to benthic life), were required to be removed to improve the mooring and operational facilities at the site. The close proximity of a number of highly protected sites (SAC and SSSI), and the attendent risks of recovering a highly mobile contaminant in the tidal environment, makes the works particularly high profile for the regulators.