Lough Neagh “Action Plan” published
Signs without substance
26 August 2024
DAERA minister Andrew Muir launches Lough
Neagh Action Plan
The Stormont government has published 37-point action plan proposing the solutions it suggests are necessary to resolve the poisoning of the Lough Neagh ecosystem from blue-green algae.
Apparently after several weeks Alliance farming and environment minister Andrew Muir has managed to get the other 11 ministers to back the plan.
The blooms are poisonous to animals and people, sucking oxygen out of the water.
However, it is not known how far any curbs on fertiliser use will stretch; are they local to Lough Neagh or do they cover the wider catchment area?
Planned Measures of the Report include:
“Consult on restricting the use of chemical fertilisers containing phosphorus on grassland,
“Introduce a Fertiliser Database to record fertiliser movements along the supply chain in NI from merchants/suppliers to farmers”
“Provision of training in compliance and environmental performance to slurry spreading contractors, to reduce risk of runoff to watercourses”
“Scope the development of a simple information system for slurry spreading to provide a warning when heavy rainfall is forecast.”
“Develop a Lough Neagh science platform incorporating an online portal providing up to near real time water quality and safety monitoring and integrated ecosystem monitoring data”
“Engage and fully consult with stakeholders regarding a new regulatory framework for the processing of slurry”
And “scope and report on the most effective domestic wastewater treatment systems with the potential to expand to a septic tank replacement scheme to improve water quality”
The 37-point plan is described as, “a first step.”
Minister Muir says, “: “The publication of the full Lough Neagh Report and Action Plan will be a significant step towards improving water quality, reducing blue-green algae and ensuring we can rehabilitate the lough to a healthy status, enjoyed by generations to come.
“The Action Plan is not a wish list – it is a detailed, science-led, proportionate and ambitious set of actions that will make a tangible difference to our waterways. I must be clear however, that there are no quick fixes, it will take many years, if not decades to see substantial recovery, such is the depth and complexity of the problem,” adding that for the plan to succeed it will “require significant investment”, and that, “the pace of progress will depend to some extent on the funding available”
Yet already The Ulster Farmer’s Union has said, “the proposal to limit chemical fertiliser containing phosphorus will have to go through full public consultation and the UFU will engage in this process”.
Several campaigners have criticised the Stormont document for “vague language” and for dilution of the required actions following political opposition.
A proposal to restrict the use of chemical fertilisers becomes a commitment to consult on the issue in the action plan. As well as prioritising investment in wastewater treatment works, restriction of fertilisers was one of a number of “key recommendations” originally put before the executive. Agriculture accounts for 62% of the lough’s phosphorous inputs.
Also absent from the plan are specific targets for reduction of sewage going into our rivers and slurry run-off into the lough.
The priority for any clean-up effort is to drastically bring down the levels of phosphorous entering the watershed.
The algal bloom has been monitored as accelerating this year. It has appeared 14 days earlier this year than it did last year with research suggesting phosphorous inputs are higher than ever before with between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of additional phosphorous released into the lough system since 2023’s blooms.
Scientific modelling comes up with a timescale of between 20 and 40 years for adequate phosphorous removal from the lough’s sediment, if significant reduction measures are taken right away.
Is the Department of Agriculture aware of an estimated cost that a “clean up” will demand? They would at least know that it may run into eye watering amounts.
Yet the first stage of the action plan calls for applications from private companies with their proposals for solutions. This is a stalling tactic for the media. There is a mountain of public research already available in universities. The fact that this stunt comes first in the proposals means that there us no real intention to solve the problem of pollution.
The framework for action is identity politics and the conviction that politicians have to get together and agree. It totally ignores class politics and the corruption within the administration. So, the DUP sign off on largely meaningless proposals and the other parties ignore their fight to defend bug agri-business and everyone’s commitment to the Going for Growth programme that has massively expanded agricultural production and accompanying pollution.
The 37 points in the action plan are 37 dance steps designed to divert while the tide of profit and pollution roll onward.