St Paul’s Bay council yesterday published a letter from the planning authority in an attempt to prove Mepa had instructed it to dump back into the sea any sand removed from a Qawra slipway.

The council and Mepa have traded accusations over a mound of silt dumped into a swimming area some metres upshore.

While the council claimed Mepa refused to allow it to deposit the sand on land, the authority claimed the council had failed to obtain the necessary authorisation to dump it at sea.

The silt is now being excavated from the sea for a second time and stored at an undisclosed location in Qawra, until a long-term solution can be found.

The silt dumping was part of a clearing exercise for a nearby slipway, which was clogged with sand and silt.

In its July 10 letter, circulated to the media by the council yesterday, Mepa wrote: “Please note that the deposition of sand on land as proposed in your application dated 19/06/12 is not permissible.

“Any sand removed from the slipway should be dumped back into the sea within the same area of the bay. Great care must be taken not to dump the sand onto posidonia grass.

“Please provide us with a plan for an alternative site for the deposition. Site selection should be in the sea within the same bay.”