THE CONTRACT to develop a waste water treatment plant at Ringsend, Dublin, allowed odour levels 20 times higher than those stipulated in the project's environmental impact statement (EIS), a report has found.
The independent report, by consultant Brendan Fehily, said the inclusion of the higher figure in the operations contract between Dublin City Council and construction and operations consortium ABA, "was either a serious error of judgment or a mistake".
Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who commissioned the report, said he noted a failure to adhere to EIS recommendations was a key element in the subsequent issues at the plant. "I would hope individuals or bodies can be held to account," he said.
Local Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton called on the Minister to ensure those responsible for the "fiasco" are held to account.
The Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant has been in operation since June 2003. It treats waste water from the entire Dublin region and has frequently operated above its capacity. Residents in Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown have complained of serious odour problems from the plant since its inception.
The report found that there were flaws in how the capacity for the Ringsend plant was calculated, with an underestimation of over 225,000 people, made up of tourists, commuters and commercial sector users.
The World Health Organisation gives 3.5 parts per billion (ppb) of hydrogen sulphide as the level at which no odour is detectable, the report said. And, though the EIS established an odour standard of 5 ppb at the site boundary, "inexplicably", the contract documents quoted a standard of 100 ppb at the site boundary.
Work to deal with the odour problem is being carried out at the plant and should be completed by the end of the month.
The report said the plant had a very positive effect on the water quality in Dublin Bay, but was unlikely to comply with the urban wastewater directive. The directive imposes stringent limits on discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous. It said measures needed to be put in place to de-nitrify the final effluent; phosphorus removal may also be required.
The report makes a series of recommendations, including an upgrading of the works and improvements in the monitoring and licensing of discharges from businesses in the Dublin area.
Mr Gormley said he particularly welcomed the nutrient removal recommendation. "This is something I called for as far back as 1993 during the early proposals for the facility," he said.
Ms Creighton said locals have endured the stench from the plant for years and that so far nobody has stood up and accepted responsibility for the plant's failure.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label ringsend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ringsend. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Ringsend residents must keep holding noses
Residents will have to endure foul smells from a sewage treatment plant for an extra four months because odour alleviation measures at the facility will not be completed on time.
Dublin City Council has admitted that even though it is currently spending €28.3m annually on the Ringsend sewage treatment plant, it will take until November to fully rectify the problem of the facility's unsavoury odours.
This is despite assurances from the city manager at the start of the year that odour problems at the plant would be fully alleviated by July.
This will bring to four years the time it has taken the council to eliminate odour problems associated with the waste water treatment facility.
Sewage
The €300m plant opened in July 2003 to process sewage from 1.7 million homes around ublin, bringing an end to the dumping of more than 40 million gallons of raw sewage into Dublin Bay.
It was developed under a public-private partnership with the ABA consortium, involving Ascon, sewerage specialists Black & Veatch and Anglia Water.
Since it opened residents living in the Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown have experienced foul odours emanating from the plant.
The smell is particularly bad in summer and for the last three years residents have been forced to keep their doors and windows shut due to the stench.
Following an independent review of the operation of the plant by a US engineering firm in 2004, the consortium decided on a series of engineering works to eradicate the smell. In 2006 short-term works began with the installation of 'odour friendly' sludge processing equipment, and last year a more extensive programme of engineering works was introduced with the aim of permanently eliminating the smell.
Last January, the city manager John Tierney said the problem would be eradicated by July, but the council now says that while short-term measures are in place and that the problem will be partly rectified by July, the odour problem will not be completely sorted out until November.
Louise Healy
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin City Council has admitted that even though it is currently spending €28.3m annually on the Ringsend sewage treatment plant, it will take until November to fully rectify the problem of the facility's unsavoury odours.
This is despite assurances from the city manager at the start of the year that odour problems at the plant would be fully alleviated by July.
This will bring to four years the time it has taken the council to eliminate odour problems associated with the waste water treatment facility.
Sewage
The €300m plant opened in July 2003 to process sewage from 1.7 million homes around ublin, bringing an end to the dumping of more than 40 million gallons of raw sewage into Dublin Bay.
It was developed under a public-private partnership with the ABA consortium, involving Ascon, sewerage specialists Black & Veatch and Anglia Water.
Since it opened residents living in the Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown have experienced foul odours emanating from the plant.
The smell is particularly bad in summer and for the last three years residents have been forced to keep their doors and windows shut due to the stench.
Following an independent review of the operation of the plant by a US engineering firm in 2004, the consortium decided on a series of engineering works to eradicate the smell. In 2006 short-term works began with the installation of 'odour friendly' sludge processing equipment, and last year a more extensive programme of engineering works was introduced with the aim of permanently eliminating the smell.
Last January, the city manager John Tierney said the problem would be eradicated by July, but the council now says that while short-term measures are in place and that the problem will be partly rectified by July, the odour problem will not be completely sorted out until November.
Louise Healy
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 20 April 2007
McDowell vows party pullout over incinerator
TÁNAISTE Michael McDowell said the Progressive Democrats (PD) would not go into any Government which supports the building of a controversial waste incinerator in the heart of his Dublin constituency.
The PD leader vowed yesterday to withdraw his party from Government if plans for the large-scale waste- burning facility on the Poolbeg peninsula are not scrapped.
The Tánaiste’s unambiguous opposition to an incinerator in Dublin will raise a doubt about the continuation of the Fianna Fáil-PD coalition if it is returned to Government in the general election.
Speaking in advance of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the project, Mr McDowell said the PD would not support Government funding for the incinerator even if it was given a green light by the planning authorities.
“We will not be party to a Government that goes ahead with this project,” he said.
Opposition TDs have accused Mr McDowell of “playing politics” by trying to disassociate himself from official Government policy which has supported the development of incinerators to help Ireland meet official EU targets on waste management and reduction.
However, Mr McDowell argued that the choice of Poolbeg as a location for an incinerator was not part of Government policy.
The Tánaiste, who will be called as a witness at the An Bord Pleanála hearing, said the issue of the incinerator’s location had never been discussed by the Cabinet.
“It most certainly has never been the subject of any Government decision and if it had been I would have made it very, very clear that the Progressive Democrats will not stand for it being built and won’t in any circumstance finance it being built,” he said.
Mr McDowell accused Dublin City Council senior management of engaging in “a fairly shabby attempt” to mislead the public on the issue because it had already admitted to the Department of the Environment that Dong Energy was not willing to proceed with the project as agreed by its predecessor, another Danish firm called Elsam.
However, Green Party TD, John Gormley, said he feared the incinerator would go ahead because the planning authorities usually came out in favour of projects that were official Government policy.
His constituency colleague, Labour TD Ruairi Quinn, said the PD leader should have resigned from Government if he was being honourable about his opposition to the incinerator.
Opposition TDs said it was entirely incompatible for the Government to locate an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula while it approved the development of a major, new residential quarter in the same area.
Irish Examiner
The PD leader vowed yesterday to withdraw his party from Government if plans for the large-scale waste- burning facility on the Poolbeg peninsula are not scrapped.
The Tánaiste’s unambiguous opposition to an incinerator in Dublin will raise a doubt about the continuation of the Fianna Fáil-PD coalition if it is returned to Government in the general election.
Speaking in advance of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the project, Mr McDowell said the PD would not support Government funding for the incinerator even if it was given a green light by the planning authorities.
“We will not be party to a Government that goes ahead with this project,” he said.
Opposition TDs have accused Mr McDowell of “playing politics” by trying to disassociate himself from official Government policy which has supported the development of incinerators to help Ireland meet official EU targets on waste management and reduction.
However, Mr McDowell argued that the choice of Poolbeg as a location for an incinerator was not part of Government policy.
The Tánaiste, who will be called as a witness at the An Bord Pleanála hearing, said the issue of the incinerator’s location had never been discussed by the Cabinet.
“It most certainly has never been the subject of any Government decision and if it had been I would have made it very, very clear that the Progressive Democrats will not stand for it being built and won’t in any circumstance finance it being built,” he said.
Mr McDowell accused Dublin City Council senior management of engaging in “a fairly shabby attempt” to mislead the public on the issue because it had already admitted to the Department of the Environment that Dong Energy was not willing to proceed with the project as agreed by its predecessor, another Danish firm called Elsam.
However, Green Party TD, John Gormley, said he feared the incinerator would go ahead because the planning authorities usually came out in favour of projects that were official Government policy.
His constituency colleague, Labour TD Ruairi Quinn, said the PD leader should have resigned from Government if he was being honourable about his opposition to the incinerator.
Opposition TDs said it was entirely incompatible for the Government to locate an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula while it approved the development of a major, new residential quarter in the same area.
Irish Examiner
Thursday, 19 April 2007
Hundreds expected at oral hearing on incinerator
HUNDREDS of residents opposed to plans for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg are expected to show up at an oral hearing into the controversial project today.
People from Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are worried that the incinerator will be a major health risk as well as adding to traffic congestion.
The Bord Pleanála hearing, which is being held at the Croke Park conference centre in order to accommodate the large numbers expected to attend, is likely to last several weeks.
The proposed incinerator is one of the most controversial developments planned for Dublin in over a decade.
It threatens to become a major election issue in the Dublin South-East constituency which is represented by, among others, the Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader, Michael McDowell, and deputy leader of the Green Party, John Gormley.
Although the construction of an incinerator for general waste in the Dublin area is part of official Government policy, all local TDs and councillors are opposed to the proposals for such a facility being located on the Poolbeg peninsula.
Nevertheless, Dublin City Council has vowed to press ahead with the project, despite setbacks.
Earlier this year, Elsam, the Danish company contracted to build the facility was taken over by Danish Oil and Natural Gas, (DONG).
The change of ownership led Mr McDowell to claim plans for the incinerator had collapsed, although Dublin City Council has insisted the project will go ahead as originally planned.
It is expected that the incinerator will be capable of burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per year — equivalent to 25% of the city’s household and non-hazardous commercial waste.
In a separate development, the Oireachtas recently fast-tracked the green light for plans for a major, new mixed development on the Poolbeg peninsula which will provide housing for thousands of residents.
Opponents of the incinerator claim this project would be a non-runner if the Government presses ahead with its plans for a major waste treatment facility in the same area.
Meanwhile, some Ringsend residents staged a demonstration outside the council’s offices at Wood Quay yesterday to protest that they had not been informed about today’s oral hearing.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said almost 3,000 people living near the Poolbeg peninsula had lodged individual objections to the incinerator. However, Mr Hearne complained that only a few objectors have received a formal notice of the An Bord Pleanála hearing.
“This is a disgraceful undermining of the democratic process of planning, when thousands of objectors are being silenced because they are not aware that the oral hearing is taking place,” said Mr Hearne.
The protesters called on both the local authority and Environment Minister Dick Roche to postpone the oral hearing until the community were properly informed.
Irish Examiner
People from Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are worried that the incinerator will be a major health risk as well as adding to traffic congestion.
The Bord Pleanála hearing, which is being held at the Croke Park conference centre in order to accommodate the large numbers expected to attend, is likely to last several weeks.
The proposed incinerator is one of the most controversial developments planned for Dublin in over a decade.
It threatens to become a major election issue in the Dublin South-East constituency which is represented by, among others, the Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader, Michael McDowell, and deputy leader of the Green Party, John Gormley.
Although the construction of an incinerator for general waste in the Dublin area is part of official Government policy, all local TDs and councillors are opposed to the proposals for such a facility being located on the Poolbeg peninsula.
Nevertheless, Dublin City Council has vowed to press ahead with the project, despite setbacks.
Earlier this year, Elsam, the Danish company contracted to build the facility was taken over by Danish Oil and Natural Gas, (DONG).
The change of ownership led Mr McDowell to claim plans for the incinerator had collapsed, although Dublin City Council has insisted the project will go ahead as originally planned.
It is expected that the incinerator will be capable of burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per year — equivalent to 25% of the city’s household and non-hazardous commercial waste.
In a separate development, the Oireachtas recently fast-tracked the green light for plans for a major, new mixed development on the Poolbeg peninsula which will provide housing for thousands of residents.
Opponents of the incinerator claim this project would be a non-runner if the Government presses ahead with its plans for a major waste treatment facility in the same area.
Meanwhile, some Ringsend residents staged a demonstration outside the council’s offices at Wood Quay yesterday to protest that they had not been informed about today’s oral hearing.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said almost 3,000 people living near the Poolbeg peninsula had lodged individual objections to the incinerator. However, Mr Hearne complained that only a few objectors have received a formal notice of the An Bord Pleanála hearing.
“This is a disgraceful undermining of the democratic process of planning, when thousands of objectors are being silenced because they are not aware that the oral hearing is taking place,” said Mr Hearne.
The protesters called on both the local authority and Environment Minister Dick Roche to postpone the oral hearing until the community were properly informed.
Irish Examiner
McDowell to do a u-turn on waste incinerators
TANAISTE Michael McDowell will today do a public u-turn on Government policy to build waste-to-energy incinerators.
The Justice Minister will break ranks with his Cabinet colleagues and personally object to the incinerator at Ringsend at the opening of a Bord Pleanala hearing into the controversial project.
Mr McDowell denied he was engaged in "nimby-ism" the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.
However,the Government has formally backed the construction of incinerators, including the one planned for Ringsend to deal with waste from the Dublin region.
Mr McDowell, a TD for Dublin South East in which the incinerator will be located, has broken ranks at the Cabinet by coming out against the plan.
He has already voiced objections at Cabinet meetings over the proposal even though incinerators have been given the blessing by the Coalition.
Mr McDowell will today attend the hearing in Croke Park at 11am to outline his objections to the incinerator.
Thousands of residents living in Sandymount and Ringsend, along with the Tanaiste, have objected to the plans.
Residents objecting to the incinerator yesterday held a protest to highlight their fears over the planning hearings.
Angry protestors complained they were worried they were being excluded from the process by An Bord Pleanala.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said residents were annoyed they had not been informed by letter over today's (Thurs) hearing at Croke Park conference centre. The open hearings over the controversial project first proposed in 1999 are expected to last several weeks and attract large crowds.
Over a dozen people gathered outside Dublin City Council offices on Wood Quay to call for the hearing to take place in the evening when more people would be free to attend.
"We held a symbolic protest to highlight the fact the community and many residents felt excluded from the process," Mr Hearne said.
"Over 3,000 individual objections were lodged but very few were responded to and informed the oral hearing was taking place."
An Bord Pleanala confirmed it published advertisements in a number of newspapers on two separate days to highlight today's public hearing at Croke Park.
Under the plans, the incinerator would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste, diverting a quarter of Dublin's waste from landfill.
Thousands of residents from Ringsend, Sandymount, Irishtown and other areas lodged objections to the project on health grounds as well as the extra traffic on the busy streets.
A number of TDs, including Tanaiste Michael McDowell, in whose constituency it would be sited, and environmental groups have also opposed the plant.
Mr Hearne said many would not be able to make the hearing as it fell during work time and was not taking place in an area close to Poolbeg.
He said hundreds more people would have been able to attend the meeting if it had taken place in the evening.
Last July Dublin City Council, on behalf of the four local authorities in the capital, applied for planning permission for the incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.
More than 2,000 objections were received by Bord Pleanala, including one Mr McDowell.
The minister caused controversy when he announced that the incinerator would not go ahead because the Danish company charged with building and operating it, Elsam, had pulled out of the deal.
He effectively gazumped the city council which said that negotiations were ongoing about changes to the contract.
As part of the planning application, the council was required to submit a report on the risks posed to the public in the event of a serious accident at the plant.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
The Justice Minister will break ranks with his Cabinet colleagues and personally object to the incinerator at Ringsend at the opening of a Bord Pleanala hearing into the controversial project.
Mr McDowell denied he was engaged in "nimby-ism" the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.
However,the Government has formally backed the construction of incinerators, including the one planned for Ringsend to deal with waste from the Dublin region.
Mr McDowell, a TD for Dublin South East in which the incinerator will be located, has broken ranks at the Cabinet by coming out against the plan.
He has already voiced objections at Cabinet meetings over the proposal even though incinerators have been given the blessing by the Coalition.
Mr McDowell will today attend the hearing in Croke Park at 11am to outline his objections to the incinerator.
Thousands of residents living in Sandymount and Ringsend, along with the Tanaiste, have objected to the plans.
Residents objecting to the incinerator yesterday held a protest to highlight their fears over the planning hearings.
Angry protestors complained they were worried they were being excluded from the process by An Bord Pleanala.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said residents were annoyed they had not been informed by letter over today's (Thurs) hearing at Croke Park conference centre. The open hearings over the controversial project first proposed in 1999 are expected to last several weeks and attract large crowds.
Over a dozen people gathered outside Dublin City Council offices on Wood Quay to call for the hearing to take place in the evening when more people would be free to attend.
"We held a symbolic protest to highlight the fact the community and many residents felt excluded from the process," Mr Hearne said.
"Over 3,000 individual objections were lodged but very few were responded to and informed the oral hearing was taking place."
An Bord Pleanala confirmed it published advertisements in a number of newspapers on two separate days to highlight today's public hearing at Croke Park.
Under the plans, the incinerator would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste, diverting a quarter of Dublin's waste from landfill.
Thousands of residents from Ringsend, Sandymount, Irishtown and other areas lodged objections to the project on health grounds as well as the extra traffic on the busy streets.
A number of TDs, including Tanaiste Michael McDowell, in whose constituency it would be sited, and environmental groups have also opposed the plant.
Mr Hearne said many would not be able to make the hearing as it fell during work time and was not taking place in an area close to Poolbeg.
He said hundreds more people would have been able to attend the meeting if it had taken place in the evening.
Last July Dublin City Council, on behalf of the four local authorities in the capital, applied for planning permission for the incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.
More than 2,000 objections were received by Bord Pleanala, including one Mr McDowell.
The minister caused controversy when he announced that the incinerator would not go ahead because the Danish company charged with building and operating it, Elsam, had pulled out of the deal.
He effectively gazumped the city council which said that negotiations were ongoing about changes to the contract.
As part of the planning application, the council was required to submit a report on the risks posed to the public in the event of a serious accident at the plant.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
European Commission to consider petition on Poolbeg incinerator site
Fiona Gartland in The Irish Times tells us that the European Commission is to hear a petition today on whether EU law was breached when the Poolbeg peninsula in Dublin was chosen as the site for a waste incinerator.
The case is being taken by Fianna Fáil councillor Chris Andrews, who believes the Government did not give proper consideration to a European directive that requires it to ensure waste is disposed of without endangering human health or the environment.
Mr Andrews contends that when former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald commissioned a private consulting company to conduct a siting study in 1999, he in effect ordered the company to select the incinerator site.
By doing so, Mr Andrews said, councillors were denied their right to exercise control in the decision-making on the siting of the incinerator, and because of this, they could not ensure that the goals of the EU directive would be achieved.
In his petition to the commission, he said the Poolbeg peninsula and the surrounding residential areas of Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown were already subject to an "unacceptable degree of environmental pollution, accompanied by alarming noise levels and fierce odours due to industrial activity and severe traffic.
"In addition to these strains, the Dublin waste water treatment plant, which was opened on the Poolbeg peninsula in 2004 and was promised to be run at the highest of environmental and safety standards, has proven to have severe health and environmental implications," he said.
He called on the commission to ensure Ireland complied with its obligations under EU law.
Mr Andrews will be accompanied by representatives from the Combined Residents Against the Incinerator and the Ringsend-Sandymount Environmental Group at the hearing today.
The commission will then carry out its own investigation before making a decision.
The case is being taken by Fianna Fáil councillor Chris Andrews, who believes the Government did not give proper consideration to a European directive that requires it to ensure waste is disposed of without endangering human health or the environment.
Mr Andrews contends that when former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald commissioned a private consulting company to conduct a siting study in 1999, he in effect ordered the company to select the incinerator site.
By doing so, Mr Andrews said, councillors were denied their right to exercise control in the decision-making on the siting of the incinerator, and because of this, they could not ensure that the goals of the EU directive would be achieved.
In his petition to the commission, he said the Poolbeg peninsula and the surrounding residential areas of Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown were already subject to an "unacceptable degree of environmental pollution, accompanied by alarming noise levels and fierce odours due to industrial activity and severe traffic.
"In addition to these strains, the Dublin waste water treatment plant, which was opened on the Poolbeg peninsula in 2004 and was promised to be run at the highest of environmental and safety standards, has proven to have severe health and environmental implications," he said.
He called on the commission to ensure Ireland complied with its obligations under EU law.
Mr Andrews will be accompanied by representatives from the Combined Residents Against the Incinerator and the Ringsend-Sandymount Environmental Group at the hearing today.
The commission will then carry out its own investigation before making a decision.
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