Call for inquiry into lack of minutes from waste incinerator meetings

Campaigners against a proposed €160 million waste incinerator for Cork Harbour have called for an investigation into the absence of any record of notes from two meetings in 2011 between executives from the company behind the project and civil servants. Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase) said it had learned through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request that the meetings took place between Indaver executives and officials from the Department of the Environment without any note of the meetings being placed in the planning file. According to the Chase spokeswoman, Linda Fitzpatrick, the campaign group had sought information from the department on any meetings between it and Indaver and the company’s agents or representatives in 2011.

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Council objects to incinerator plan

Cork County Council is to write to An Bord Pleanála to reiterate its opposition to a proposed €150 million twin incinerator project in Cork Harbour following the submission of a revised proposal by developer, Indaver Ireland, writes Barry Roche.

Councillors backed a proposal made by Labour councilllor Paula Desmond and seconded by Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath that the council write to the board stating that they did not believe the revised proposal addressed their concerns.

Twelve councillors spoke with 10 supporting a proposal to write to the board with only Fianna Fáil councillor Kevin O’Keeffe supporting the incineration proposal and Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty urging caution on jeopardising jobs in the pharmaceutical sector. Cork County manager Martin Riordan’s advice not to write to the board was rejected. The revised proposal is being considered under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.

Irish Times

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Incinerator objectors ask Europe to block planning board moves

THE European Commission has been asked to prevent Bord Pleanála allowing a company more time to make its case for the development of two major incinerators in Cork harbour.

CHASE (Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment) has lodged a complaint with the commission after the planning appeals board granted a further extension to Indaver to present its case for the development of toxic and municipal incinerators in Ringaskiddy.

CHASE spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said they had submitted "that the perpetual granting of extensions in place of a decision constitutes unfair procedures".

An Bord Pleanála held a hearing into the development of the incinerators in April 2009.

CHASE contends that Bord Pleanála has postponed its decision on too many occasions since to allow Indaver time to provide extra information requested.

"Where material submitted by a developer is inadequate it should be ruled invalid and a decision issued on that basis," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

She said the group’s latest submission to the European Commission was in addition to an existing complaint it had made regarding Ireland’s inadequate compliance with Environmental Impact Assessment procedures, on the grounds that it constitutes a fundamentally unfair and illegitimate procedure.

"The neverending facilitation of the developer (Indaver) is in breach of Irish and European requirements for fair procedures, and so we have referred it to the European Commission which is currently considering our existing complaint. Indaver cannot legitimately be given open-ended opportunity to get their proposal right. Any competent company worth their salt would have a correct proposal in on day one, with minimal need for clarification," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

Indaver have been granted an extension until August 3 to submit further details on flooding and coastal erosion mitigation measures.

Indaver managing director John Ahern said it wasn’t his firm’s fault as Indaver was only complying with a request for a "considerable amount" of further information from Bord Pleanála.

"They (CHASE) are free to make a complaint, but this kind of thing takes time. That’s the process," Mr Ahern said.

Irish Examiner

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INDAVERS INCINERATOR SITE FLOODS

The site in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, where Indaver Ireland have applied to build two incinerators is again seriously flooded. Warnings of flooding on this site were given at the recent Oral Hearing by Hydrogeologist, Shane Bennett and the Office of Public Works (OPW). Photos attached (Sat 21 Nov, high res on request) show the proposed hazardous waste storage area completely submerged.

Local resident, Audrey Hogan, Secretary of the Ringaskiddy Residents Association said “Seeing this area underwater is not new. We know this site floods, we see it regularly, and the area has been identified as high risk by the OPW. That alone should be grounds for a planning refusal.” (OPW flood maps - http://www.floodmaps.ie/View/Default.aspx)

CHASE Chairperson, Mary O’Leary said “The World Health Organisation clearly states that Hazardous Waste Facilities should not be built on flood plains. This site clearly fails that Selection Criteria and in addition to repeated flooding episodes, successive reports by the OPW and EPA have pinpointed the Ringaskiddy coastal area as vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and flooding.


Flooding in the storage area could cause a major accident scenario and engineering solutions proposed will only worsen soakage in the surrounding areas, increasing risk to students in the Maritime College, and potentially cutting off access to the College and Haulbowline. No insurer in their right mind would give flood insurance to this plant, even if it does get planning.”

The flooding issue was raised at the 2009 Oral Hearing where Representatives from the Office of Public Works (OPW) in attendance confirmed that there was an expectation of exceptionally high tides and surges in the area. They repeated concerns that the site was highly vulnerable, and expressed further concern about access to the site in the case of flooding, citing the 28/29 October 2004 floods on the proposed site as very significant.

Further evidence presented to An Bord Pleanala by Hydrogeologist Shane Bennett, who referred to a letter submitted into evidence by climatologist, Prof John Sweeney, left no doubt about site unsuitability. Mr Bennett, giving his flooding assessment, said that combining a 1m sea level rise* (ref Prof John Sweeney) with a 3m surge for a 1 in 100 year storm (Oxford 1989) would suggest a 4m flood level, which when combined with a 4.2m Spring Tide Level "would have catastrophic consequences for this site".

Flood levels during the October 2004 storm surges (2.85metres OD) would have resulted in the entire waste transfer area being flooded.

A decision by An Bord Pleanala on the Ringaskiddy Incinerator is due by 4 December.

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Hearing ends into Indaver proposal

AFTER FIVE weeks of deliberations, An Bord Pleanála’s hearing into a proposed incinerator on a 12-acre site at Ringaskiddy in Co Cork drew to a close yesterday.

An Bord Pleanála inspector Öznur Yucel-Finn must now make a conclusive decision on the evidence presented to the hearing.

A decision on the eight-year planning battle between local residents and incinerator backers Indaver Ireland is expected this year.

Yesterday’s presentations consisted of closing submissions from community representatives, statutory bodies, the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment and Indaver Ireland.

In his closing statement, the director of Indaver Ireland, John Ahern, said that there was a proven need for the proposed incinerator.

“That need is consistent with the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan, does not prejudice any objective in the Cork City Waste Management Plan 2004-2009 or the Waste Management Plan for Cork County 2004-2009.”

He added that the proposed development was consistent with the objective to promote the recovery of energy from waste.

In her closing statement, alliance chairwoman Mary O’Leary spoke of the multiple levels on which the proposal failed good planning criteria.

She said that the site selection was wrong and the technology to be employed was unsuitable.

“We rely on the moral and ethical considerations as well as the policy process that will guide you – the board – in your decision making.

“Indeed, we rely on the axiom of ‘public interest’ to direct you in that decision, and in restoring the faith of this community that our concerns will be listened too this time.”

Irish Times

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Incinerator explosion contingency plan urged

THE POSSIBILITY of a vapour cloud explosion at the site of a proposed incinerator in Ringaskiddy, Cork, must be taken into account and planned for, according to a major emergency officer attached to the HSE.

Peter Daly, chief emergency management officer for the HSE and a former chemical weapons inspector in Iraq, said “credible scenarios” included in the application for the €140 million waste-to-energy plant “must include the possibility of a vapour cloud explosion, which is currently omitted”.

Mr Daly, a Cobh resident and objector to the proposed incinerator, was speaking as a private individual and not for the HSE at an oral hearing into the incinerator.

He referred to huge explosions that took place at the Buncefield oil depot in the UK in December 2005. In the planning process for the oil depot explosions of that scale were not considered to be a “credible scenario”.

“If Buncefield teaches us anything it is that we need to consider a vapour cloud explosion as a credible scenario, and it is worth repeating from the report that the circumstances which led to the event were predictable even if the consequences were not.”

In evidence previously unknown to anti-incinerator campaigners, Mr Daly said distances claimed to be safe by incinerator proposers Indaver would be regarded as well inside the danger zones by public response agencies in the event of an accident.

He said should an accident occur, response agencies would consider whether their staff could be admitted to the danger zone.

“The public safety zone consists essentially of three zones: hot, warm and cold. Distances claimed as safe in the application would be regarded by the public response agencies in emergency response as well inside a PSZ warm circle. The area that they would regard as being in a ‘warm zone’ would be significantly greater than the perimeter of the plant,” Mr Daly said.

A spokesman for Indaver said emergency plans for the facility would be made known locally before incineration begins.

“We are happy to reiterate that any emergency planning aspects of the proposed facility would be co-ordinated with the relevant authorities in advance of operations and communicated locally.

“Everyday operations will meet the highest standards, involving modern technology and qualified personnel to ensure appropriate safety at all times.”

However, Mr Daly said a singular access point to the site for the incinerator also posed problems for the emergency services. “The area is effectively a cul-de-sac with only one entry point, and if that entry point along the Ringaskiddy road is compromised then the public response agencies will be significantly affected, with the potential of very serious consequences.”

Irish Times

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Incinerator impact statement 'should be withdrawn'

AN ENVIRONMENTAL impact statement (EIS) submitted by the proposers of a toxic waste incinerator in Cork harbour should be withdrawn from consideration because it does not meet required standards, according to a prominent medical scientist.

Epidemiologist and professor of health systems at Dublin City University, Anthony Staines, said Indaver Ireland’s EIS report “shows little grasp” of the practical issues associated with population health surveys.

Prof Staines was asked by anti-incinerator campaigners to review the EIS with particular reference to the estimation of human health impacts and delivered his findings at An Bord Pleanála’s oral hearing into the proposed incinerator yesterday.

The EIS, according to Dr Staines, provides no real basis from which to conclude the health impacts of the proposed incinerator.

“The writer has not done what he suggested was required, a baseline environmental analysis, followed by an estimation of the impacts of changes in this on human health. It is not possible for any reasonable person to draw any conclusions as to the health impacts of the proposed development from the EIS,” Dr Staines said.

Prof Staines, who co-authored a Health Research Board report (HRB) on the environmental effects of landfill and incineration of waste, Health and Environmental Effects of Landfilling and Incineration of Waste , said the EIS drawn up on behalf of Indaver Ireland was based wholly on secondary sources; does not take into account recent literature; includes no references for a section on dioxins; and contains no reference to potential pollutants such as cadmium and arsenic.

Prof Staines claimed that some sections of the EIS were plagiarised material, taken without reference, from his own work.

“Whole sections on health issues relating to respiratory symptoms and reproductive effects are copied, verbatim and without any attribution, from [the] HRB report. Much of the cancer section is also copied with a minor rewrite,” he said.

In his Health Research Board report, Prof Staines found that Ireland was poorly equipped to assess, monitor, and enforce human health protection and has insufficient resources to carry out “adequate risk assessments for proposed waste management facilities”. He said that although the necessary skills are available, neither the personnel nor the dedicated resources have been made available.

The professor recommended that better facilities, financial input and data banks be developed for measuring environmental damage in Ireland and he said that although some progress had been made, “the current situation is that neither the EPA, nor the local authorities, have the capacity to adequately monitor and police human health”.

The oral hearing reconvenes on Monday.

Irish Times

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Cork incinerator hearing adjourned

An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into a proposed €150 million incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour has been adjourned for three weeks following presentations from members of the local community.

Indaver Ireland has applied under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 for both a hazardous industrial waste incinerator and a municipal waste incinerator, each capable of taking 100,000 tonnes per annum, at the 12 hectare Ringaskiddy site.

According to Indaver’s planning application, the plant will incorporate a four storey high process building, an 85 metre high flue stack, a turbine hall, an aerocondenser structure, a sampling laboratory and a transfer station and other units at the site.

A number of groups have come together under the banner of Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment to oppose the plan.

Following presentations from members of the local community last night at a special evening session, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Ms Oznur Yukel-Finn has adjourned the hearing for three weeks to allow time for consideration of extra information presented during the hearing.

Irish Times

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Findings say incinerator would pass air guides

EMISSIONS FROM a hazardous waste incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork harbour will be in compliance with the ambient air quality standards set down in law, an expert witness on behalf of the developers of the incinerator has told the public hearing.

Air quality consultant Dr Edward Porter told the hearing he had used two models to examine the quality of air emissions from the proposed incinerator. Both confirmed that emissions would be within existing ambient air quality standards.

Making a submission on behalf of Indaver Ireland, Dr Porter said he had obtained meteorological data from Cork airport from 2003- 2007 to feed into his two models.

He said the Ringaskiddy facility would have two main emission points or flues within the one 85 metre stack, with one flue taking emissions from the grate incinerator, the other taking emissions from a post-combustion chamber.

“The results show that the combination of stringent emission limits laid down in the waste incineration directive and the selected stack height are appropriate in ensuring that the ambient air quality standards are not exceeded.”

In a detailed submission, Dr Porter said the results showed that sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and total dust emissions under maximum conditions ranged from 10 per cent to 33 per cent of the ambient air quality standards at the nearest test receptor point.

Dr Porter added that the proposed facility would not have any impact on climate change, in line with incinerators generally.

Safety expert Thomas Cleary, for Indaver, said Ringaskiddy was classified as a Seveso site – which covers a European directive on control of major accidents involving dangerous substances – because of the various wastes likely to be handled there, including aqueous wastes, waste solvents, flammable materials and harmful solid wastes.

He said the waste tanks would be relatively small with the largest being just 400 cubic metres. The main solvent tanks would be at the southern side of the site and shielded from the Ringaskiddy Road by the incinerator plant itself.

Mr Cleary acknowledged there had been explosions and fires at incinerators which resulted in fatalities, but such fatalities had been confined to those on the site.

Irish Times

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Incinerator 'solution' to pollution at Cork site

A HAZARDOUS waste incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork harbour could help clean up the waste legacy of contaminated materials left at the former Irish Steel plant on nearby Haulbowline Island, it was claimed yesterday.

Indaver Ireland managing director John Ahern told the second day of the Bord Pleanála hearing into the proposed incinerator that the facility offered not just the opportunity to deal with the region’s growing municipal and industrial waste but also contaminated material from Haulbowline.

“Haulbowline Island has contaminated soils and sludges . . . our facility offers a solution. With Indaver up and running in the area, this problem can be resolved – safely, efficiently and at an affordable cost thus ending what has been a prolonged hangover for the locality,” he said.

Mr Ahern said that as Ireland’s waste mountain continued to grow, the disposal options for treating this waste were narrowing and Cork, like every region in Europe, must reduce its dependence on landfill or face millions of euro in punitive fines.

Cork and Ireland need security of energy supplies and while many options are available, the most obvious is waste-to-energy which is far more beneficial economically than either burying waste in landfill or exporting it for treatment, he said.

“For example, hazardous waste from the Cork region supplies the base load energy source for Hamburg’s extensive district heating system. This effectively subsidises hot water and heating for the residents and industries of Hamburg,” he said.

Mr Ahern said that Indaver had over 20 years’ experience operating waste-to-energy facilities in Flanders where it was founded by the Flemish government in partnership with local industry. The company plans to replicate a similar approach to waste management here, Mr Ahern added.

Indaver’s project and commercial director, Jackie Keaney, said the Ringaskiddy project was in line with both EU and Irish objectives to maximise the recovery of energy from residual waste and generating renewable energy from biomass in the waste.

Installing a combined heat and power plant would contribute to Ireland meeting renewable heating targets and it would also contribute to security of energy supply goals by generating from a local resource that provides an alternative to fossil fuels, she said.

“The Ringaskiddy facility can accept a range of biodegradable wastes that would otherwise be sent to landfill, These include for example, treated residues and refuse derived fuel from mechanical biological treatment, sludges and organic wastes from industry,” she said.

Ms Keaney said the proposed incinerator was in line with the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan 2008-2012 which recommends a move towards self sufficiency. “At present, the Ringaskiddy facility is the only waste-to-energy facility in the planning process that can accept the 50,000 tonnes per annum identified by the EPA as requiring thermal treatment in Ireland,” she said. The hearing continues.

Irish Times

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Incinerator 'solution' to pollution at Cork site

A HAZARDOUS waste incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork harbour could help clean up the waste legacy of contaminated materials left at the former Irish Steel plant on nearby Haulbowline Island, it was claimed yesterday.

Indaver Ireland managing director John Ahern told the second day of the Bord Pleanála hearing into the proposed incinerator that the facility offered not just the opportunity to deal with the region’s growing municipal and industrial waste but also contaminated material from Haulbowline.

“Haulbowline Island has contaminated soils and sludges . . . our facility offers a solution. With Indaver up and running in the area, this problem can be resolved – safely, efficiently and at an affordable cost thus ending what has been a prolonged hangover for the locality,” he said.

Mr Ahern said that as Ireland’s waste mountain continued to grow, the disposal options for treating this waste were narrowing and Cork, like every region in Europe, must reduce its dependence on landfill or face millions of euro in punitive fines.

Cork and Ireland need security of energy supplies and while many options are available, the most obvious is waste-to-energy which is far more beneficial economically than either burying waste in landfill or exporting it for treatment, he said.

“For example, hazardous waste from the Cork region supplies the base load energy source for Hamburg’s extensive district heating system. This effectively subsidises hot water and heating for the residents and industries of Hamburg,” he said.

Mr Ahern said that Indaver had over 20 years’ experience operating waste-to-energy facilities in Flanders where it was founded by the Flemish government in partnership with local industry. The company plans to replicate a similar approach to waste management here, Mr Ahern added.

Indaver’s project and commercial director, Jackie Keaney, said the Ringaskiddy project was in line with both EU and Irish objectives to maximise the recovery of energy from residual waste and generating renewable energy from biomass in the waste.

Installing a combined heat and power plant would contribute to Ireland meeting renewable heating targets and it would also contribute to security of energy supply goals by generating from a local resource that provides an alternative to fossil fuels, she said.

“The Ringaskiddy facility can accept a range of biodegradable wastes that would otherwise be sent to landfill, These include for example, treated residues and refuse derived fuel from mechanical biological treatment, sludges and organic wastes from industry,” she said.

Ms Keaney said the proposed incinerator was in line with the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan 2008-2012 which recommends a move towards self sufficiency. “At present, the Ringaskiddy facility is the only waste-to-energy facility in the planning process that can accept the 50,000 tonnes per annum identified by the EPA as requiring thermal treatment in Ireland,” she said. The hearing continues.

Irish Times

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Claims that incineration no longer Government policy rejected

INDAVER Ireland has rejected claims by Green Party Senator Dan Boyle that incineration is no longer Government policy, pointing out that Mr Boyle’s own party leader has admitted there is a need for two incinerators in the country.

On the opening day of what is the second full hearing on Belgian company Indaver’s plans for a toxic waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, Mr Boyle said that while incineration had been Government policy, that was not the case any more.

"Incineration had been the Government’s preferred policy for waste disposal. It was considered cheap and easy and quick. In terms of policy making that ticks a lot of boxes, even if it causes problems and rides roughshod over the wishes of a community.

"Incineration is no longer a preferred disposal method. Mechanical and biological treatment have become the preferred options and the Government has also initiated a review of best practice."

However, Indaver pointed out that the leader of Mr Boyle’s party, Environment Minister John Gormley, said as late as October 2007 that Ireland requires "no more than two incinerators" to deal with waste that cannot be recycled or processed and it would need to incinerate 400,000 tonnes of waste a year by 2016.

Elsewhere in his submission yesterday, Mr Boyle claimed Indaver had itself admitted that a new incineration levy proposed under the Programme for Government would make its project unviable.

Munster MEP Kathy Sinnott said Cork Harbour, where the incinerator would be located and where the National Maritime College is located, had the potential to be a "thriving, prosperous, integrated harbour, with research and development integrating transport, tourism, leisure activities like bathing and water sports, and all the other businesses that thrive in a busy setting.

"In creating this economy The National Maritime College is the critical key. If it is allowed to expand and develop, it has the potential for cutting edge research and a leading international university," she said. "An incinerator on the doorstep of the college is not appropriate to the potential development of the site. The Ringaskiddy/Cork Harbour site is the wrong site and to proceed with this site will rob Munster, Ireland and Europe of a valuable and irreplaceable maritime asset and thousands of sustainable jobs."

Irish Examiner

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Indaver plan ‘will solve Irish Steel headache’

INDAVER will today claim its plans for a toxic waste incinerator in east Cork will not only resolve Ireland’s mounting waste mountain but will also deal with the expensive problem of contaminated soils and sludges at the former Irish Steel facility in the region.

On the second day of what is likely to be a three-week An Bord Pleanála hearing, the Belgian incineration company will say its project planned for Ringaskiddy has the potential to get deal with the "environmental and financial headache" the Irish Steel facility has left on Haulbowline Island.

It will also claim that Ireland’s landfill options are diminishing and that mechanical biological treatment, as favoured by the Government, still creates waste which must be dealt with.

Yesterday, An Bord Pleanála inspector Oznur Yucel-Finn revealed that the board had received 295 written submissions with 1,099 signatures excluding those of umbrella groups from around the east Cork region and beyond.

Before the hearing even got going, solicitor Joe Noonan representing the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment questioned the impartiality of An Bord Pleanála.

He pointed out that in 2003, in the first hearing on the planned incinerator for Ringaskiddy, the board’s then inspector Philip Jones recommended refusal of the development but that was overturned by the board itself. He said when a High Court challenge by objectors to that decision lapsed, all sides, including Indaver, agreed to pay their own costs apart from the board which, he said, pursued private individuals for its costs.

"We therefore come to this hearing with trepidation," he said.

Yesterday the new inspector, Ms Yucel-Finn, said she would reach her own conclusions but the board would make the overall decision.

Also yesterday, Michael Gillen of Pharmachem Ireland, giving evidence on behalf of Indaver, said a lack of an integrated waste infrastructure was a major challenge to industries such as the pharmaceutical sector. He said at present those companies were having to export large levels of waste at high cost.

"Ireland’s main competitors for foreign direct investment, Singapore, Puerto Rico and Switzerland all have integrated waste management plans that work. For example in 2005 of the municipal waste generated in Singapore, 5% went to landfill, 46% was converted to energy and 49% was recycled. That year Ireland sent 65% to landfill, 0% was converted into energy and 35% was recycled.

Irish Examiner

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Department to raise fresh incinerator concerns

THE Department of the Environment is set to raise several new concerns about the impact of two controversial incinerators on legally protected wildlife zones in Cork Harbour.

In a hard-hitting submission to a Bord Pleanála oral hearing, which gets under way today, the department will say it is not satisfied with the assessment of the impact of emissions and effluent discharges from Indaver’s proposed developments on the protected areas.

And it has also asked for further information on potential emissions in the event of an accident or a catastrophic failure of the incinerator’s combustion and air pollution control systems.

The submission, which has been seen by the Irish Examiner, says a more comprehensive assessment of the project is recommended.

It should take into account European Commission guidance on the protection of certain habitats, as well as the specific effects of effluent discharges and emissions from the proposed development on Cork Harbour and its protected areas, the department said.

These concerns were not raised during the 2003 oral hearing into a previous application by Indaver to build a single toxic waste incinerator on the same site.

The new departmental submission could prove hugely significant.

Indaver Ireland has applied to Bord Pleanála, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, for 10-year planning permission for two incinerators — one for hazardous waste and one for municipal waste — on a 12-hectare site in Ringaskiddy.

The €150m project includes two waste-to-energy facilities, plus a waste transfer station.

The industrial WTE facility will burn a maximum of 100,000 tonnes of solid and liquid, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes such as contaminated packaging, products, and solvents or liquids from the pharmaceutical and chemical industry every year.

The municipal WTE facility will treat a maximum of 140,000 tonnes of residual household and commercial waste every year.

Hundreds of submissions have been made by members of the public opposed to the project.

The submission from the Department of the Environment points out that the proposed incinerators will be located within 1km of legally-protected zones of Cork Harbour, and within 10km of dozens of designated and proposed protected sites, which could be affected by emissions.

Cllr Dominick Donnelly said local campaigners have been raising these concerns for years.

"We are fairly confident of winning our case this time," the Green Party councillor said. "The last time, the only reason we lost was because of Government policy. The thinking now is very, very different."

However, Indaver Ireland said it believes incineration is part of the solution to key environmental, energy and economic challenges faced in the Cork region. "Facts, not hearsay should determine the outcome of its application," managing director John Ahern said.

"We believe that the facts we will present demonstrate a compelling case in favour of granting approval for our application."

A decision is expected in early June.

Irish Examiner

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Incinerator group in legal costs plea after failing in Supreme Court appeal

CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans for the country’s first toxic waste incinerator have pleaded with the Government not to pursue them for substantial legal costs following what they called a “devastating” court ruling.

The Supreme Court awarded costs to the State and to Indaver against residents of Cork Harbour relating to its decision in July not to adjourn incinerator cases pending a European Court of Justice case against Ireland.

The court said as this appeal had failed, there was no reason for it to depart from the normal practice of requiring the unsuccessful party to be responsible for costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and An Bórd Pleanála told the court they are not looking for their costs.

Residents fighting the €75 million incinerator are facing a substantial legal bill, potentially hundreds of thousands of euro.

Labour TD Ciarán Lynch said the decision will have huge financial implications for people around the country “sticking up for their own community”.

“This will undermine the principle of the participation by community groups in public debate and public campaigns,” he said.

Green Party Senator Dan Boyle said he was very unhappy with the decision.

“The State can and should withdraw its demand for costs and I will argue that point to Government,” he said.

Indaver managing director John Ahern said he will not make a decision on the costs until other cases pending have been determined.

“We question the wisdom of the objectors continuing with a case which we believe we will be successful in,” he said.

The Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE) said the Supreme Court decision sent shockwaves through harbour communities.

CHASE chairwoman Mary O’Leary said this would be “an acid test” of Environment Minister John Gormley’s “green credentials”.

“He must ensure that the communities who sought important clarification on a matter of planning law don’t suffer for bringing this to the state’s attention,” she said.

Ms O’Leary and Mr Gormley were among a delegation which travelled to Brussels in spring 2004 to lodge a complaint with the EU about alleged breaches of planning law.

It led to a European Court of Justice case against the State on the grounds of non-compliance with an European Commission (EC) directive on Environmental Impact Assessments on significant projects.

The residents wanted judicial review proceedings relating to the incinerator adjourned, pending the outcome of the EU’s case against Ireland.

Ms O’Leary said groups fighting the incinerator will be pleading with Mr Gormley not to pursue them for costs.

“We should not be punished to bringing this to the attention of the State,” she said.

The minister is due to open a climate change conference in Cork on Friday and is likely to be met with protests.

More than 30,000 people have objected to the planned incinerator, citing health concerns.

Irish Examiner

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Indaver not abandoning Waste-to-Energy plans in Ireland

Indaver is to continue with the approvals process for the proposed Waste-to-Energy facilities in Meath and Cork.

Both projects are in line with government policy, which includes a commitment to divert waste from landfill and develop alternative waste infrastructure. However, policy drivers are required to create suitable market conditions prior to the company investing over €250m in the waste to energy sector in Ireland.

Following a second oral hearing of appeals for the Meath facility in March, Indaver now await the final decision from An Bord Pleanála. If planning permission were to be granted, the company would be in a position to begin construction in 2007.

The commencement of the construction phase for projects depends on a number of policy drivers -

* Due to excess landfill and reduced gate fees, an increased landfill levy is imperative to ensure competition in the waste market
* A ban on certain types of waste being disposed of to landfill
* Direction of waste further up the waste hierarchy away from landfill, which is at the bottom of the waste hierarchy.

The implementation of one - or a combination - of these policy drivers in the short to medium-term, would provide certainty - which would allow the company progress with the construction phase of the Meath facility.

Whilst excess landfill does not impact on the industrial waste-to-energy facility proposed for Ringaskiddy, lack of policy drivers required to create suitable market conditions for the municipal waste-to-energy plant is impacting on the development of the Ringaskiddy project.

Expansion into the UK Market
As a European company, the Indaver Group is looking to expand its services into other European countries. This will strengthen an on-going commitment to offer the highest operating standards in the waste management industry to customers.

The Group has been monitoring the UK waste industry for some time - in particular, UK government policy and infrastructural requirements.

In its March 2007 budget, the British Government introduced an annual increase of £8 (€11) per tonne on its current landfill tax of £24 (€35) per tonne from April 2008 until - at least - 2010-2011. This will bring the UK landfill tax to over £48 (€70) by 2010.

This increase in the landfill levy provides the certainty that Indaver requires in order to expand into the UK marketplace. For this reason, Indaver will be focusing on waste-to-energy infrastructural projects in the UK market for the coming year.