Transport Minister David Anderson is due to explain this morning why his department has decided to put controversial plans for a sewage treatment plant near Peel power station on hold.

On Tuesday night, the town's commissioners voted narrowly against the scheme, and yesterday evening the DoT said it was dropping the matter, at least for the time being.

People power appears to have won the day in Peel, following the recent public meeting which voted overwhelmingly against the proposed sewage plant.

It would have been constructed about 400 metres upriver from the power station.

In a media release, the DoT says the site rejected by the commissioners was close to the outskirts of Peel, which would have kept running costs low. It had also been zoned for development since 1982.

The department says it's disappointed by the turn of events, adding that it would be unlikely to obtain permission for any alternative site, outside the boundary of the town and on unzoned land.

Mr Anderson and the department's director of drainage Peter Winstanley are due to appear on this morning's Mandate, after the 8am news.