Lough Foyle ‘coastal’ designation unopposed

He said the Foyle estuary limit in Lough Foyle was originally established in 1994 according to a definition set out in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995.

Londonderry MLA Maeve McLaughlin asked the Minister why the Foyle Estuary was designated as coastal rather than estuarine waters.

The Minister said: “The delineation was confirmed through the Water Framework Directive characterisation process carried out in 2004-2005 following which followed the Guidance issued by the UK Technical Advisory Group.”

He explained that the delineation of the estuary in 1994 under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and the characterisation of water bodies under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) were undertaken without consultation.

“However, the WFD characterisation was reviewed in 2005 and the ‘WFD Summary Report of the Characterisation and Impact Analysis Required by Article 5 Northern Ireland’ was posted on the NIEA website in March 2005,” the Minister stated.

“This document along with the draft River Basin Management Plan published in December 2008 was opened for 6 months consultation, following which no issues were raised about the delineation of the Foyle estuary or the Faughan and Roe estuaries, nor the characterisation of the northern end of Lough Foyle as a coastal water,” he added.