Poolbeg incinerator owners fined for breaking environmental licence in first week

The operator of the Poolbeg incinerator has been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay €14,000 in costs after a “glitch” led to breaking its environmental protection licence during its first week. The power plant at Pigeon House Road, Poolbeg, Dublin 4, which began operations in June last year, aims to convert waste that cannot be reused or recycled into clean energy to produce 60 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 80,000 homes. It is run by The Dublin Waste to Energy project – a public-private partnership between Dublin City Council and recycling and energy company Covanta. Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd faced six counts of breaking conditions of a licence for the facility granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Read the full article @ The Irish Examiner

EPA reports continued downward trend of significant pollutants from industrial facilities

The EU Commission has published the European Pollutant Release and transfer Register (E-PRTR) for the reporting year 2009.

It will be available online and will be revised in October 2011, to accommodate updated data.

The Register tracks annual data on 91 specific substances or pollutants released and recorded by industrial and public facilities - above specified reporting thresholds - to air, water and land as well as waste transferred off-site.

Data from Ireland was submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is the third annual E-PRTR data submission.

Commenting on the report, Gerard O'Leary, Programme Manager, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement said - “The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register provides access to key environmental data from some 24,000 industrial facilities including 336 facilities in Ireland. The register covers 65 economic activities across Europe and contributes to transparency and public participation in environmental decision-making.

"The data from Ireland continues to show an overall downward trend in emissions to air as a result of a reduction in production output arising from macro-economic activity and capital investment in Best Available Technology in abatement technology in the energy sector.”

The key findings of the 2009 E-PRTR show -

336 facilities in Ireland are covered by E-PRTR reporting. These include facilities from power generation, wastewater treatment, chemicals, intensive livestock, minerals & cement sectors. Also included are large companies in areas such food & drink and waste sites.
Releases to air were dominated by facilities from the energy, minerals & cement and chemical sectors.
Overall, the data shows a continued downward trend, since 2007, in emissions of key substances or pollutants to air (carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, methane and non-methane volatile organic carbons).
The energy sector contributed 79% of Ireland’s 2009 E-PRTR carbon dioxide releases, while the remaining 21% was from the cement & minerals sector. Releases of carbon dioxide from the cement sector have decreased by 16.5% since 2008.
Nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions decreased by 39% and 37%, respectively, since 2008.
Public wastewater treatment plants which receive wastewater from a variety of sources were the top contributors to the total amount of nutrients (i.e. total nitrogen and total phosphorus, released to waters in 2009). The increase in emissions from this sector is indicative of additional wastewater treatment facilities reporting under E-PRTR.
The tonnage of hazardous waste transferred off-site from E-PRTR facilities decreased by 55% since 2008, to 220,428 tonnes. This is most likely a result of the economic downturn.
The waste transfer stations and chemical sector contributed 52% and 36% respectively, of the total hazardous waste transfers off-site.
The tonnage of non-hazardous waste from all sectors decreased by 6%, to 3.28 million tonnes.

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Judge rules on liability for clean-up of landfill

EUROPEAN REGULATIONS aimed at making company directors personally liable for the costs of environmental clean-ups have not been correctly transposed into Irish law, a High Court judge has ruled.

Mr Justice John Edwards gave his ruling yesterday in a case by the Environmental Protection Agency against Nephin Trading and others involved in a licensed landfill at Kerdiffstown, near Naas, Co Kildare.

The environmental agency and the Department of Environment spent €3 million fighting a major fire at the landfill which burnt for about four weeks earlier this year. The full clean-up of the site is expected to cost in excess of €30 million.

Nephin Trading and associated companies Dean Waste and Jenzsoph Ltd had been operating at the landfill and recycling facility for some 14 years until the agency secured court orders stopping them from accepting any further waste last year.

Nephin Trading and its associated companies subsequently went into liquidation, and the agency sought a “fall-back order” to make the directors of the companies involved personally liable.

However, in the High Court yesterday Justice Edwards said he had reservations about the legislation underpinning such a move. He questioned the transposition of the European Waste Framework Directive into Irish law.

Mr Justice Edwards said the provisions of Section 57/58 of the Waste Management Acts “do not in fact effectively transpose the enforcement obligation of the Waste Framework Directive”.

Justice Edwards noted that in the past the High Court had not had a difficulty in relation to making directors liable under this Act. He also noted courts of the same level “should be extremely slow” to disagree with each other.

On this point he said he had received submissions from the Attorney General, who was represented in court yesterday.

However Mr Justice Edwards said he “didn’t find the submissions particularly helpful as they were telling me what I already knew, that the courts should be extremely slow to disagree”.

Justice Edwards said he had been presented with “no real argument to the problems the court was dealing with” in relation to the issue of the transposition of the EU directive.

The judge’s full ruling is expected to become available to the public within days.

The court was adjourned until March 18th, at which the issue of the costs of the case will be addressed.

After the short hearing yesterday the agency said it would be making no comment until it had studied the judgment.

However, the directors of the companies involved said they welcomed the decision.

They said they would be calling on the incoming government to investigate the “full circumstances surrounding the loss of 200 jobs and the loss of an investment of €80 million”.

The agency has begun preliminary work to remove stockpiles of fire-risk waste and landfill leachate, providing 24-hour security, setting up an on-site office, increasing monitoring and inspection and dealing with “immediate health and safety issues”.

Funding for the short-term emergency works had been provided by the department and further funding for remediation works would be “released on a phased basis”, the agency said. Altogether, it will involve dealing with two million tonnes of waste.

Senior agency officials recently met the Clean Air Naas lobby group, which had been critical of the agency’s handling of the case. It has agreed to co-operate on the basis that “all matters will be fully disclosed” and no information would be “suppressed”.

Irish Times

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Focus on Landfilling Report

The EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) has published its Focus on Landfilling in Ireland report.

The report examines the standards of operation and management at landfills in Ireland and charts the progress made since the EPA began licensing this sector 15 years ago.

Commenting on the report, Mr. Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said - “Regulation of the waste sector has been a driver for improved standards and better environmental outcomes. Landfills are subject to a rigorous enforcement regime, without which we would have more pollution.”

The report charts the fall in the number of municipal waste landfills over the last 15 years - falling from almost 100 landfills in 1995 to 30 facilities today, all of which are licenced to operate by the EPA. During this time, there has been a dramatic improvement in the performance indicators for landfills - as shown in the table below.

This EPA report also sets out the challenge facing Ireland to divert enough biodegradable waste from landfills to meet increasing targets set by Europe. Additional waste infrastructure will be needed to treat this kind of waste and more markets needed for the resulting compost.

Mr Lynott said - “Over a million tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste went to landfill in 2008 and this figure has to drop by 750,000 in 2016 to meet EU targets.”

The report highlights the compliance and enforcement issues that remain with this sector - in particular the fact that 71 per cent of all complaints against licensed facilities related to odour nuisance.

In response to these compliance issues this EPA reports shows -

* 15 landfill operators were prosecuted between 2001 and 2009. Fines and costs totalled €261,188.
* 434 audits and inspections of landfills were undertaken by EPA inspectors in 2008/2009 in addition to almost 200 monitoring visits to sample surface water, groundwater, leachate and landfill gas.
* 207 Notices of Non-Compliance were issued to landfills in 2008/2009.

The EPA has identified compliance priorities for the landfill sector that will be the focus of its enforcement effort.

Kieran O’ Brien, Programme Manager in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said - “Future EPA enforcement effort will be targeted at compliance priorities to ensure that Ireland fully complies with EU obligations under the landfill directive and achieves successful outcomes for our environment.”

The compliance priorities include:

* Diversion of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) away from landfill;
* Management of landfill gas and odour;
* Financial provision for environmental liabilities - and
* Dealing with legacy landfills.

Landfill Directive

Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 29 April 1999 on the landfill of waste imposes minimum standards for landfilling on EU Member States. The Landfill Directive came into effect on the 16th July 2001 and all landfills were required to comply with its general technical requirements by 16th July 2009 at the latest.

The first Landfill Directive target for diversion of biodegradable municipal waste applies from the 16th July 2010 for Ireland. In 2008, 1,196,044 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste were landfilled.

Synopsis of compliance priorities

Biodegradable waste

* Landfilling of BMW results in high emissions of methane which is a greenhouse gas and a potential source of odour nuisance.
* Ireland faces daily fines for non-compliance with Landfill Directive targets for diversion of BMW from landfill.
* Almost 1.2 million tonnes of BMW were landfilled in 2008; just 0.916 million tonnes can be landfilled in 2010, reducing to 0.610 million tonnes in 2013 and 0.427 million tonnes in 2016.

Landfill gas

* The landfilling of waste produces landfill gas which poses an environmental risk if not managed properly.
* Landfill gas must either be collected and used to produce energy, or flared according to EPA guidance.
* Landfill gas is odorous and accounted for 71% of all complaints in relation to licensed facilities in 2009.

Environmental Liabilities and Financial provision

* Decommissioned landfills continue to pose an environmental risk and require proper * Significant financial provision is required to fund closure, restoration and aftercare costs.
* Landfill gate fees have declined by one-third between 2004 and 2008, which raises concerns in relation to funding of closure, restoration and aftercare costs, in particular.

Legacy Landfill

* Over 300 landfills were operated by local authorities between 1977 and 1997 without specific authorisation. These have now been registered by the local authorities and the EPA is in the process of risk assessment and permitting.

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Minister announces membership of the Environmental Protection Agency Review Group

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, TD, has formally announced the membership of the (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency Review Group.

The establishment of the Review Group follows on from a commitment made in the Programme for Government of June 2007.

The purpose of the Review is to assess the performance of the EPA, its scope and mandate and to examine whether the Agency has the optimum structure and governance arrangements in place to continue to deliver its objectives effectively - particularly in view of its expanding role and additional functions.

The membership of the group is as follows -

* Dr. Kenneth Irvine, School of Natural Science, Zoology Department, Trinity College
* Professor Sharon Turner, Chair of Environmental Law, Queens University Belfast
* Mr. Jack O’Sullivan, Director, Environmental Management Services
* Dr. Áine Ryall, Law Faculty, University College Cork
* Mr. Fred Langeweg, former Deputy Director, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
* Mr. Larry Stapleton, Former Director, Environmental Protection Agency
* Mr. John McCarthy, Assistant Secretary, Environment Division, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will provide secretariat to the Group.

The Minister said - “Given the key role played by the Agency in monitoring, maintaining and improving Ireland’s environmental performance, I attach a high level of importance to this Review. Good environmental governance is a key priority for me as Minister for Environment and for the Government as a whole - in particular, as an essential element of sustainable development.

"The review is also important in the context of the Transforming Public Services agenda and need for efficiency and effectiveness in a resource constrained environment.”

As part of the Review, there will be a comprehensive consultation process involving the key stakeholders, including Government Departments / Agencies which interact with the EPA, local authorities, NGOs, business groups and the general public.

The Minister added - “I have asked the Group to report to me before the autumn. The members of the Group possess the necessary skills and experience for the task. I wish the members well in their work and look forward to receiving the outcome of their deliberations on this wide and complex remit.”

The terms of reference of the Review Group are -

* To review the legislation governing the EPA - including the licensing functions and the processes in place to ensure public participation and the various remedies and sanctions available to the EPA for enforcement provided in the Acts - and to identify any necessary improvements in the legislation;
* To assess the performance of the EPA against the mandate which it was given when it was originally established in 1993, in relation to the expanding goals which have been set for it in the past decade and in comparison with best practice elsewhere - and to identify any necessary improvements in the EPA’s procedures and approaches;
* To assess the scope of the EPA’s mandate and whether it could be strengthened to include other areas;
* To review the resources allocated to the EPA in relation to current obligations and further functions that may arise, on foot of EU legislation;
* To assess the structures and governance of the EPA (including the operation of advisory committees and whether non-executive directors should be provided for) - and
* To re-assess the ongoing relationship between the EPA and other parts of the environmental governance structure in Ireland, having regard to the environmental challenges facing Ireland and developments in society.

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Irish grasslands may assist in addressing climate change

Irish grasslands are potentially an important sink for carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research report Celticflux.

Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas (GHG) considered to be causing climate change. Policy-makers worldwide are working to achieve an international agreement to reduce GHG emissions under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.

The report results are based on analysis of intensive measurements, carried out by University College Cork and Teagasc over a five-year period, at sites in the south-east and south-west of the country. The report indicates that grasslands can take up between 11 tonnes and 18 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air, per hectare per year.

The work was largely carried out at grassland sites in County Cork and County Wexford. The study also included a natural peatland site in Co Kerry, which was shown to be a small sink for carbon dioxide(CO2). The EPA has also funded studies on croplands, which will be published shortly.

Most of the carbon dioxide is recycled as animal feed, but it is estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of the carbon is sequestered into the soil, where it can reside for much longer time periods, with a positive environmental benefit.

Commenting on the report, EPA Director Laura Burke said - “These are important results from research which the EPA has funded. Grassland is the dominant land use in Ireland and these results show that management of Irish grassland can have an important role in addressing climate change”

She added - “The outcome of this research is an important step-up in our understanding. Ireland has more than three million hectares of managed grassland. If this result were replicated across this area, it would amount to a considerable sink. However, some other land uses are likely to be a source of carbon dioxide, so a simple scaling up of these data can be misleading.

"Overall, the main message is positive and we need to use these results to inform decisions on the future use of grassland and other land.”

The EPA is working with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and others on assessment of how best to account for these results in the context of future development of national actions on climate change.

Frank McGovern, Senior Scientific Officer, EPA said - “These are complex issues and we need to insure that their full scope is understood when decisions are being made on land use and management - and particularly in accounting for these under future actions on climate change. These issues are being considered at EU and UN levels.”

The results need to be cross-checked and other land and soil types explored, along with land management regimes. A better understanding of the dynamics of soil carbon - as well as future climate conditions that will impact on soil - is also a requirement. This work is a key part of the current EPA research programme.

Addressing climate change is the key challenge of this century. There is no one solution, but the EPA considers that land management is one of the tools that could be used. This work helps to inform our thinking in the context of the various - and sometimes competing - demands. A holistic assessment is required to identify the best pathway to achieve climate objectives as well as economic and sustainability goals.

Further information -

Niamh Leahy, EPA Media Relations Office, 053-9170770 (24 hours)

Professor Ger Kiely, Hydromet Group, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University College Cork -
Tel: 021-4902965
Email: g.kiely@ucc.ie
Web: www.hydromet.org

Notes:

The next UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen in December is expected to progress international actions to address climate change. This is likely to include commitments by developed countries to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases - including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

The European Union (EU) considers that international actions to address climate change should aim to insure that the average global temperature increase is kept below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The non-EU members of the G8 - including the USA and Japan - have recently endorsed this position.

Analysis provided by the IPCC indicated that meeting the EU climate protection goal means that emissions of GHGs from developed countries must be reduced by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020 - with a 50 per cent global reduction by 2050.

The report presents its analysis in terms of carbon, rather than carbon-dioxide. The carbon to carbon-dioxide conversion is: 1 tonne Carbon = 3.6 tonne Carbon Dioxide.

www.buckplanning.ie

Methane risks persist at docklands site, warns former EPA inspector

SIGNIFICANT RISKS from methane gas remain on a €450 million site in Dublin’s docklands despite an attempt by the owners to get Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clearance that the lands are safe for development, a former EPA inspector has warned.

The Irish Glass Bottle property in Ringsend is owned by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) together with developer Bernard McNamara and financier Derek Quinlan, using a company called Becbay partly funded by a €288 million loan from Anglo-Irish Bank. Becbay claims the lands have been fully cleaned of the pollutants left by decades of industrial use and should no longer be considered an industrial site. They say it should therefore be free for development.

In March, Becbay applied to the EPA to drop the requirement for an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licence, which was needed during the period of Irish Glass Bottle’s operations on the Ringsend lands since 1994.

In a submission to the EPA, one of its former inspectors, Malcolm Doak, however, warned that 30 per cent methane gas levels exist on the lands and that “a significant gas risk still remains on-site”.

Urging the EPA not to agree to the surrender of the licence, Mr Doak said a decision to do otherwise would “set a new precedent for contaminated land remediation in Ireland”.

Arup Consulting Engineers produced a report for Becbay in March, which declared that “all vestiges” of the Irish Glass Bottle operations have been removed from the site, and that the lands are in “a satisfactory state”.

In a letter to the EPA’s office of environmental enforcement, Arup director Niamh O’Sullivan said Arup’s report “provides an independent closure audit for the facility”. Ms O’Sullivan is also a director of the DDDA.

Space created under car-parking spaces and other services would “create a wide and ventilated physical barrier” between polluted lands “and the future habitable spaces of the new development.

This option allowed for leaving deeper deposits of the legacy landfill in place, hence reducing the quantity of waste that required export and disposal,” said the report.

Meanwhile, difficulties in deciding on valuations of properties and assets owned by the DDDA have delayed the submission of the body’s accounts to Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

The accounts, once published, are likely to put the State body into deficit for the first time, reflecting heavy losses sustained on the €450 million Irish Glass Bottle deal – one of the biggest deals of the property boom.

The authority’s then chief executive, Paul Maloney (who resigned on Tuesday night), promised the Oireachtas Committee on Environment last February to publish the accounts by the end of June “at the latest”. “They are definitely delayed. They won’t be published until the autumn,” an authority spokesman told The Irish Times.

“The docklands authority’s accounts for the year 2008, which will include valuations for the authority’s property and development assets are currently being prepared and will be submitted to the Minister for Environment, Heritage Local Government in autumn 2009. The annual report on activities for 2008 has already been submitted,” the authority said in a formal statement.

Fine Gael TD Phil Hogan, in a letter to authority chairman UCD professor Niamh Brennan, demanded full details of the retirement agreement reached with Mr Maloney, whose term of office ran until the middle of next year.

“I noted your statement regarding the early retirement of your chief executive Paul Maloney on July 29th ,2009. I am seeking to establish the terms of his retirement and his financial settlement. I am also interested in your reference to the challenges facing the DDDA that lie ahead,” wrote Mr Hogan.

“During the course of the committee meeting last February, it was clear that there were concerns regarding good corporate governance. Could you indicate if you have addressed the concerns raised and if you will seek to ensure that the board of the DDDA implements new procedures in respect of its decision-making?” he asked.

Irish Times

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EPA identifies new sanctions that could be used in Ireland to protect the environment

The EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) has published a report entitled - A Study on the Use of Administrative Sanctions for Environmental Offences in other comparable countries and assessment of their possible use in Ireland.

The report reviewed the use of civil/administrative sanctions relevant to environmental protection in Ireland, the UK, USA, Germany and Australia.

The drivers for the study, from a regulatory point of view, were -

* The burden of proof required to use the current criminal code for regulatory offences and the associated resources.
* The lack of options between the maximum District Court Sanction of €3,000 and the maximum Circuit Court Sanction of €15m.

The study, commissioned by the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE), identified 20 administrative sanctions that are available to environmental regulators to enforce environmental law without resort to criminal or civil court proceedings.

In total, Ireland already has access to 11 of the 20 non-criminal sanctions identified. Some of the non-criminal sanctions that Ireland either does not have, or does not have a legislative basis for are -

* Enforcement Undertaking
Written undertakings to remedy the harm done that can be enforceable in court.

* Fixed or variable Penalties
Payment of specified or variable monetary amounts to discharge or compensate for the breach (on-the-spot fines or infringement notices).

* Environmental or Community Services Order
Offender carries out a specified project for public benefit. Examples include the provision of recycling facilities, conservation or remediation work, training or education initiatives, etc.

* Compensation Order
Offender compensates the regulator or third party for costs incurred in taking action.

* Name and Shame or Publicity Orders
Order requiring publicity of environmental consequences, penalties, etc.

“New environmental legislation and the nature of illegal activity requires an increasingly sophisticated and flexible enforcement response to attain compliance” - said Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement.

“Administrative sanctions have the potential to put the environmental regulator in a better position to match their response to the realities of enforcement. This report will contribute positively to the debate about better regulation” - he added.

The study also identified a number of hurdles that would need to addressed if additional administrative sanctions were to be introduced. These include the identification of the costs versus the benefits, the right to appeal against a sanction and the protection of the constitutional rights of the individual.

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Half of sewage plants failing to make EU grade

ONE in four waste-water treatment plants are discharging raw sewage into the sea and rivers without carrying out treatment, posing serious public health risks.

And more than half of all plants surveyed by an environmental watchdog are failing to treat waste water to EU standards.

A new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also revealed that major towns, including Bray, Clifden and Kinsale, do not treat waste to the required safety standards. The 'Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland' report, to be published today, found that even when multi-million euro plants were built, some local authorities were failing to monitor the water quality, despite it costing just €600 per year.

Analysed

The report, which covers 2006 and 2007, analysed 370 treatment plants serving 482 villages, towns and cities with populations of over 500.

It found:

* Waste water from 192 treatment plants (51pc) did not meet the EU quality standards due to plants either not operating properly or being overloaded.
* Waste water was being discharged with either no treatment or basic treatment at 112 locations at the end of 2007.
* As of June 2009, 93 of these locations remain without treatment or with just basic treatment. In the majority of cases these discharges are to estuarine or coastal waters.
* 158 locations were required to have secondary treatment or higher by December 2005 to comply with EU law. As of June 2009, 20 did not.
* 90pc of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better. This means that the water was biologically treated to kill dangerous bugs.

The EPA has new powers to take local authorities to court for failing to ensure standards are met. Yesterday it warned that senior managers could be held personally responsible for failed treatment plants.

"Continued investment in waste-water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing waste water treatment infrastructure," EPA Programme Manager Gerard O'Leary said yesterday.

Environment Minister John Gormley last night said the fact that 25pc of the non-compliance levels were attributed to insufficient levels of sampling was "unacceptable".

"The report highlights the need for continued investment in waste-water treatment infrastructure if we are to achieve the standards required by EU and national legislation," he said.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

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Sewage plants waste water not reaching EU standards

WASTE WATER from more than half of the country’s sewage treatment plants failed to reach EU quality standards in 2006 and 2007, according to a report released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

And only one local authority fully complied with the requirements of the EU urban waste water treatment directive.

Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland reviewed the quality of discharges from 370 secondary waste-water treatment plants around the country.

While it found that 90 per cent of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better, in over half the plants, 192, the discharge did not meet EU standards. These included the Ringsend plant in Dublin and nine plants in Galway.

In a further 112 areas, waste water was discharged directly into estuaries or coastal waters with either basic treatment or no treatment at all in 2007. To date, this has continued in 93 locations.

Among the locations with the largest populations receiving little or no treatment were Killybegs in the Donegal County Council area, Shanganagh in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and Bray, Wicklow town and Arklow in Co Wicklow. These were among 20 areas required by the directive to have secondary treatment plants in place by the end of 2005 and still do not have them.

While many of the 20 are now under construction, it is expected that some will not be built until 2013, eight-years later than required.

The report found only one local authority, Longford County Council, fully complied with the requirements of the directive.

Insufficient or incorrect sampling accounted for a quarter of the non-compliances. Other problems included poor sludge management and inadequate collecting systems for waste water.

The report listed 13 rivers “seriously polluted” by municipal waste water, including three in Donegal.

Gerard O’Leary, programme manager with the EPA, said the compliance levels for waste water quality were very disappointing. The discharge from plants only needed to be analysed 12 times a year at a cost of €50 a month, so it was difficult to understand why this was not being done, he said.

“Continued investment in waste water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing water treatment infrastructure,” he said.

Mr O’Leary also said the Ringsend plant was currently operating beyond its design capacity and would struggle to meet discharge standards. While the plant served 2.87 million people, it was designed to serve 1.64 million.

Other plants too small for the population they serve included plants at Kenmare, Co Kerry, Enniscrone, Co Sligo and Thurles, Co Tipperary.

Mr O’Leary said the 18-year-old directive did not include sanctions, but new regulations introduced in late 2007 established a licensing system for sewage treatment plants. The authority will eventually be able to prosecute if plants do not comply with the conditions of these licences.

This could result in fines of between €5,000 and €500,000 imposed on local authorities.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley expressed concern at the levels of non-compliance with the standards and said it was unacceptable that 25 per cent could be attributed to insufficient sampling by local authorities.

“I will be instructing my department to engage with the EPA and with the local authorities in order to identify and agree procedures including training and up-skilling of operators which will assist individual waste-water treatment facilities to comply with the regulatory standards and with discharge licences and sampling requirements,” the Minister said.

Plants that discharge directly into estuaries or coastal waters with just basic treatment or no treatment

Preliminary treatment

To screen out, grind up or separate debris is the first step in waste water treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys etc are removed at this stage.

Primary treatment

Second step in treatment which separates suspended solids and greases from waste water

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL

Clarecastle (no treatment); Corofin (primary treatment); Kilkee (no treatment); Kilrush (no treatment); Scarriff (primary treatment).

CORK (SOUTH) COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballingeary (primary treatment); Ballymakeera (primary treatment); Carrigaline (no treatment); Coachford (primary treatment); Cobh (no treatment); Crosshaven (preliminary treatment); Innishannon (primary treatment); Kinsale (preliminary treatment); Passage/Monkstown (no treatment); Youghal (no treatment).

CORK (WEST) COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballydehob (primary treatment); Baltimore (primary treatment); Bantry (no treatment); Castletownbere (no treatment); Courtmacsherry (no treatment); Glengarriff (primary treatment); Rosscarbery/Owenahincha (primary treatment); Schull (primary treatment); Skibbereen (no treatment).

DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL

Buncrana (primary treatment); Bundoran (preliminary treatment); Carrigart (primary treatment); Castlefinn (primary treatment); Convoy (primary treatment); Downings (primary treatment); Dunfanaghy/Portnablagh (primary treatment); Dungloe (primary treatment); Dunkineeley (primary treatment); Falcarragh (primary treatment); Glenties (primary treatment); Kilcar (preliminary treatment); Killybegs (no treatment); Lifford (primary treatment); Moville (no treatment); Ramelton (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment).

DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL

Shanganagh (preliminary treatment).

FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL

Howth/Baldoyle/Portmarnock (no treatment); Loughshinny (primary treatment); Rush (no treatment); Lusk (primary treatment).

GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL

Ahascragh (preliminary treatment); Clifden (primary treatment); Clonbur (preliminary treatment); Dunmore (primary treatment); Eyrecourt (primary treatment); Glenamaddy (primary treatment).

KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL

Ardfert (primary treatment); Ballyduff (primary treatment); Ballyferriter (primary treatment); Ballylongford (primary treatment); Fenit (primary treatment); Glenbeigh (primary treatment); Tarbert (primary treatment); Waterville (primary treatment).

KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballymore Eustace (primary treatment).

KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL

Bennettsbridge (primary treatment); Johnstown (primary treatment).

LIMERICK COUNTY COUNCIL

Foynes (no treatment); Glin (no treatment).

LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Drumlish (primary treatment); Newtownforbes (primary treatment).

LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL

Collon (no treatment); Knockbridge (no treatment).

MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL

Belmullet (no treatment); Killala (no treatment); Kiltimagh (primary treatment); Newport (no treatment).

SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

Mullaghmore (primary treatment); Rosses Point (primary treatment).

TIPPERARY SOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL

Cappawhite (primary treatment).

WATERFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Ardmore (preliminary treatment); Cappoquin (primary treatment); Dunmore East (preliminary treatment); Kilmacthomas (primary treatment); Stradbally (primary treatment); Tallow (primary treatment).

WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Bunclody (primary treatment); Campile (primary treatment); Duncannon (no treatment) Fethard-on-Sea (primary treatment); Kilmore Quay (no treatment); New Ross (no treatment).

WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL

Arklow (no treatment); Avoca (primary treatment); Bray (preliminary treatment); Wicklow (preliminary treatment).

Irish Times

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Sewage plants waste water not reaching EU standards

WASTE WATER from more than half of the country’s sewage treatment plants failed to reach EU quality standards in 2006 and 2007, according to a report released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

And only one local authority fully complied with the requirements of the EU urban waste water treatment directive.

Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland reviewed the quality of discharges from 370 secondary waste-water treatment plants around the country.

While it found that 90 per cent of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better, in over half the plants, 192, the discharge did not meet EU standards. These included the Ringsend plant in Dublin and nine plants in Galway.

In a further 112 areas, waste water was discharged directly into estuaries or coastal waters with either basic treatment or no treatment at all in 2007. To date, this has continued in 93 locations.

Among the locations with the largest populations receiving little or no treatment were Killybegs in the Donegal County Council area, Shanganagh in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and Bray, Wicklow town and Arklow in Co Wicklow. These were among 20 areas required by the directive to have secondary treatment plants in place by the end of 2005 and still do not have them.

While many of the 20 are now under construction, it is expected that some will not be built until 2013, eight-years later than required.

The report found only one local authority, Longford County Council, fully complied with the requirements of the directive.

Insufficient or incorrect sampling accounted for a quarter of the non-compliances. Other problems included poor sludge management and inadequate collecting systems for waste water.

The report listed 13 rivers “seriously polluted” by municipal waste water, including three in Donegal.

Gerard O’Leary, programme manager with the EPA, said the compliance levels for waste water quality were very disappointing. The discharge from plants only needed to be analysed 12 times a year at a cost of €50 a month, so it was difficult to understand why this was not being done, he said.

“Continued investment in waste water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing water treatment infrastructure,” he said.

Mr O’Leary also said the Ringsend plant was currently operating beyond its design capacity and would struggle to meet discharge standards. While the plant served 2.87 million people, it was designed to serve 1.64 million.

Other plants too small for the population they serve included plants at Kenmare, Co Kerry, Enniscrone, Co Sligo and Thurles, Co Tipperary.

Mr O’Leary said the 18-year-old directive did not include sanctions, but new regulations introduced in late 2007 established a licensing system for sewage treatment plants. The authority will eventually be able to prosecute if plants do not comply with the conditions of these licences.

This could result in fines of between €5,000 and €500,000 imposed on local authorities.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley expressed concern at the levels of non-compliance with the standards and said it was unacceptable that 25 per cent could be attributed to insufficient sampling by local authorities.

“I will be instructing my department to engage with the EPA and with the local authorities in order to identify and agree procedures including training and up-skilling of operators which will assist individual waste-water treatment facilities to comply with the regulatory standards and with discharge licences and sampling requirements,” the Minister said.

Plants that discharge directly into estuaries or coastal waters with just basic treatment or no treatment

Preliminary treatment

To screen out, grind up or separate debris is the first step in waste water treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys etc are removed at this stage.

Primary treatment

Second step in treatment which separates suspended solids and greases from waste water

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL

Clarecastle (no treatment); Corofin (primary treatment); Kilkee (no treatment); Kilrush (no treatment); Scarriff (primary treatment).

CORK (SOUTH) COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballingeary (primary treatment); Ballymakeera (primary treatment); Carrigaline (no treatment); Coachford (primary treatment); Cobh (no treatment); Crosshaven (preliminary treatment); Innishannon (primary treatment); Kinsale (preliminary treatment); Passage/Monkstown (no treatment); Youghal (no treatment).

CORK (WEST) COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballydehob (primary treatment); Baltimore (primary treatment); Bantry (no treatment); Castletownbere (no treatment); Courtmacsherry (no treatment); Glengarriff (primary treatment); Rosscarbery/Owenahincha (primary treatment); Schull (primary treatment); Skibbereen (no treatment).

DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL

Buncrana (primary treatment); Bundoran (preliminary treatment); Carrigart (primary treatment); Castlefinn (primary treatment); Convoy (primary treatment); Downings (primary treatment); Dunfanaghy/Portnablagh (primary treatment); Dungloe (primary treatment); Dunkineeley (primary treatment); Falcarragh (primary treatment); Glenties (primary treatment); Kilcar (preliminary treatment); Killybegs (no treatment); Lifford (primary treatment); Moville (no treatment); Ramelton (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment).

DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL

Shanganagh (preliminary treatment).

FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL

Howth/Baldoyle/Portmarnock (no treatment); Loughshinny (primary treatment); Rush (no treatment); Lusk (primary treatment).

GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL

Ahascragh (preliminary treatment); Clifden (primary treatment); Clonbur (preliminary treatment); Dunmore (primary treatment); Eyrecourt (primary treatment); Glenamaddy (primary treatment).

KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL

Ardfert (primary treatment); Ballyduff (primary treatment); Ballyferriter (primary treatment); Ballylongford (primary treatment); Fenit (primary treatment); Glenbeigh (primary treatment); Tarbert (primary treatment); Waterville (primary treatment).

KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL

Ballymore Eustace (primary treatment).

KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL

Bennettsbridge (primary treatment); Johnstown (primary treatment).

LIMERICK COUNTY COUNCIL

Foynes (no treatment); Glin (no treatment).

LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Drumlish (primary treatment); Newtownforbes (primary treatment).

LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL

Collon (no treatment); Knockbridge (no treatment).

MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL

Belmullet (no treatment); Killala (no treatment); Kiltimagh (primary treatment); Newport (no treatment).

SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

Mullaghmore (primary treatment); Rosses Point (primary treatment).

TIPPERARY SOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL

Cappawhite (primary treatment).

WATERFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Ardmore (preliminary treatment); Cappoquin (primary treatment); Dunmore East (preliminary treatment); Kilmacthomas (primary treatment); Stradbally (primary treatment); Tallow (primary treatment).

WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL

Bunclody (primary treatment); Campile (primary treatment); Duncannon (no treatment) Fethard-on-Sea (primary treatment); Kilmore Quay (no treatment); New Ross (no treatment).

WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL

Arklow (no treatment); Avoca (primary treatment); Bray (preliminary treatment); Wicklow (preliminary treatment).

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

EPA calls for move to low-carbon economy

ECONOMIC RECOVERY when it comes must involve Ireland developing a low-carbon “smart, green economy”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday.

Launching the agency’s annual highlights for 2008, EPA director general Dr Mary Kelly said the environment was “an asset under threat” and early warnings about the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change “must be heeded”.

While she said there was little indication of the scale of the economic crisis the world was facing in early 2008, Dr Kelly warned that the economic crisis was now coinciding “with a climate-change crisis and an ecosystems crisis”.

She said the State investment in environmental infrastructure must now be given priority to ensure Ireland “in the first instance catches up to European norms in key areas like waste-water treatment and the provision of good-quality drinking water to all consumers”.

Dr Kelly said “fundamental change” was required to ensure that economic recovery was based on low-carbon, sustainable principles.

She said there were clearly many economic and social advantages in developing a green economy.

She claimed Ireland had a real opportunity to become a world leader in renewable energies and to position itself as a net exporter of energy in years to come.

Looking at the highlights of 2008, she said the agency’s fourth, state-of-the-environment report, Ireland’s Environment 2008, was undoubtedly a flagship report.

The report detailed the four main environmental challenges for Ireland. They are:

- Limiting and adapting to climate change;

- Reversing environmental degradation – particularly in relation to water pollution and the conservation status of habitats;

- Mainstreaming environmental considerations across all sectors of the economy;

- Complying with environmental legislation and agreements.

As part of its research programme, the EPA has also been working with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Teagasc on the development of a new way of forecasting how economic and social developments will affect the environment.

Called the ISus project – for Irish sustainable development model – it allows the agency to predict the impact of future developments on the production of waste and the generation of potentially polluting substances such as acidifying gases and greenhouse gases.

The year 2008 was also a significant year for water protection and management, with the first full year’s supervision of the production of drinking water and the introduction of licensing for sewage discharges.

Other significant events were the granting of a waste licence to Dublin City Council for an incinerator, and the taking of 20 prosecutions at District Court level.

The publication of a National Hazardous Waste Management Plan was also completed in 2008.

This plan made 29 recommendations that, when implemented, will reduce the generation of hazardous waste and ensure that all hazardous waste is collected and managed appropriately.

It will also increase Ireland’s self-sufficiency in hazardous waste management, and deal with the legacy and contamination of past practices involving hazardous materials.

The EPA also highlighted the difficulties facing Ireland in relation to meeting the targets for diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill and set out a number of options for dealing with the issue.

This will be a major issue for Ireland in the coming years, according to the agency.

EPA: Priorities

Environmental Protection Agency priorities in 2009 will include:

- ensuring economic difficulties faced by environmental licence holders do not result in environmental damage;

- implementing the Hazardous Waste Management Plan;

- continuing water management and protection;

- the development of a risk assessment tool for old dumps;

- the publication of a large biodiversity project AgBiota;

- publication of a National Waste Report, among others;

- ensuring infrastructure is developed for biodegradable waste;

- continuing research into environmental technologies in relation the the ’smart, green economy’;

- ensuring economic recovery is environmentally sustainable;

- fostering environmental research and innovation

- continuing research and advice on climate change

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Licence for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg has been granted

A licence for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg has been granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today.

The agency gave permission to Dublin City Council for the non-hazardous waste plant in Dublin Bay.

Under the licence, the incinerator is to burn the waste and to recover energy in the form of steam and electricity for export to the national grid, and for the transfer of heat to a municipal district-heating scheme, once this has been set up.

The incinerator will be the first of its kind in Dublin and one of the biggest such facilities in Europe, burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.

More than 216 conditions are included in the terms of the licence, relating to the environmental management, operation, control and monitoring of the proposed facility.

“The EPA is satisfied that operation of the facility, in accordance with the conditions of the licence, will not endanger human health or harm the environment in the vicinity of the facility or over a wider area,” said an EPA spokesman.

The agency said the licence had been strengthened to take account of concerns expressed at an oral hearing held in Dublin last April. It added the licence conditions meet the highest standards set by the EU Incineration of Waste Directive.

Dublin City Council will be responsible for managing the facility, while the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement will monitor the licence through environmental audits, unannounced site visits and checks on emissions.

A two-month period during which a judicial review can be sought has now begun.

Yesterday, An Bord Pleanála lost its High Court bid to prevent local resident groups opposed to the proposed Poolbeg waste incinerator in Dublin pursuing court claims.

The groups claim they are entitled to an independent review of how An Bord Pleanála addressed issues relating to an environmental impact statement for the development.

The EPA received the licence application on July 10th, 2006, and 14 valid objections were submitted. A 10-day oral hearing in April heard 45 presentations from all parties.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Licence for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg has been granted

A licence for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg has been granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today.

The agency gave permission to Dublin City Council for the non-hazardous waste plant in Dublin Bay.

Under the licence, the incinerator is to burn the waste and to recover energy in the form of steam and electricity for export to the national grid, and for the transfer of heat to a municipal district-heating scheme, once this has been set up.

The incinerator will be the first of its kind in Dublin and one of the biggest such facilities in Europe, burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.

More than 216 conditions are included in the terms of the licence, relating to the environmental management, operation, control and monitoring of the proposed facility.

“The EPA is satisfied that operation of the facility, in accordance with the conditions of the licence, will not endanger human health or harm the environment in the vicinity of the facility or over a wider area,” said an EPA spokesman.

The agency said the licence had been strengthened to take account of concerns expressed at an oral hearing held in Dublin last April. It added the licence conditions meet the highest standards set by the EU Incineration of Waste Directive.

Dublin City Council will be responsible for managing the facility, while the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement will monitor the licence through environmental audits, unannounced site visits and checks on emissions.

A two-month period during which a judicial review can be sought has now begun.

Yesterday, An Bord Pleanála lost its High Court bid to prevent local resident groups opposed to the proposed Poolbeg waste incinerator in Dublin pursuing court claims.

The groups claim they are entitled to an independent review of how An Bord Pleanála addressed issues relating to an environmental impact statement for the development.

The EPA received the licence application on July 10th, 2006, and 14 valid objections were submitted. A 10-day oral hearing in April heard 45 presentations from all parties.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

EPA warns of rise in NO2 levels as traffic increases

POLLUTION FROM nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine dust particles, damaging to people’s lungs, could rise in Ireland’s urban areas with further increases in traffic, according to the latest air quality report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Air Quality in Ireland 2007, compiled by EPA researcher Barbara O’Leary, shows that all monitoring stations throughout the State met EU standards.

However, levels of particulate matter (PM10) were relatively high in smaller towns due to continued use of bituminous coal.

The release of the report yesterday was timed to coincide with European Mobility Week, which runs until September 22nd. This year’s theme is “Clean Air for All” a goal threatened here mainly by traffic and the use of smoky fuel in smaller urban areas.

EPA programme manager Dr Ciarán O’Donnell said: “What our results for 2007 show is that there is a strong link between air quality and local emissions. Traffic and smoky fuel are the two main causes of poor air quality in Ireland.”

Given high levels of traffic in Dublin and other cities and the continued burning of bituminous coal in areas where its sale is not banned, he said the public should “consider the environmental effects of their choice of domestic fuel and mode of transport”.

NO2 and PM10 were the main pollutants. NO2 levels were highest in the most urbanised areas, mainly due to traffic density. Particulates were highest in cities and smaller towns, probably due to traffic density in cities and use of non-smokeless fuel in smaller towns.

PM10 levels have fallen significantly at Winetavern Street in Dublin since 1998 and are now similar to those measured in Rathmines, possibly due to changes in traffic patterns, according to the report.

“The threat of exceeding the [EU] limit value [35 days greater than 50 microgrammes per cubic metre] remains a possibility at these and other locations affected by emissions from traffic or from solid-fuel burning should unfavourable weather conditions occur.”

Although there was “no discernible change” in NO2 concentrations at Winetavern Street and Old Station Road in Cork, the report warned that higher levels in urban areas “have the potential to pose a threat to compliance with the annual limit value.”

Black-smoke concentrations in Dublin, Limerick and Cork have fallen dramatically since the 1990s, reflecting the effectiveness of smoke-control legislation introduced in greater Dublin in 1990 which banned the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal.

The ban on bituminous coal came into force in Cork city in 1995 and in Arklow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Limerick and Wexford in 1998. It was extended to Celbridge, Galway, Leixlip, Naas and Waterford in 2000 and to Bray, Kilkenny, Sligo and Tralee in 2003.

Sulphur dioxide concentrations have declined significantly since the early 1990s due to the more widespread use of smokeless coal as well as the lower sulphur content of fuels generally, and consumers switching from solid fuel to oil or gas for heating.

Benzene levels in Dublin and Cork have also decreased significantly since 2001 and are now “well within the [EU] limit value which comes into force in 2010”, the report says, mainly because of a reduction in the average benzene concentration in petrol to 0.7 per cent. Lead concentrations have been very low since leaded petrol was phased out in 2000.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Dumps clean-up to cost millions

THE government faces a multi-million euro bill to reduce the pollution risk from 300 dumps and 100 abandoned mines.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 300 "historic" dumps scattered across the country that it says need attention, some of which may harbour toxic or hazardous waste which poses a risk to groundwater. On Wednesday, the EPA will outline to the Dail Environment Committee the work that needs to be done.

The agency is also carrying out an urgent review of disused mines which may pose a health risk to local residents. The question of who will foot the bill for the work is still to be resolved and could delay the clean-ups for years. It has also emerged that lands with a low commercial value could be the last to be restored to full health.

Mining involves use of dangerous chemicals, which can contaminate the land and water sources. And many landfills contain leachate, or water contaminated with decomposing rubbish, and methane gas which can ignite. "There was indiscriminate illegal dumping for years when any old hole in the ground would do," Labour's Emmet Stagg said last night. "The leachate going into water is the biggest issue."

Responsible

Details of the audit come after traces of a highly toxic cancer-causing chemical were discovered at the site of the former Irish Steel works on Haulbowline island in Co Cork.

The Department of the Environment is solely responsible for the clean-up of Haulbowline, but local authorities and the EPA are responsible for landfills. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources takes responsibility for old mines, including Avoca in Co Wicklow and Silvermines in Co Tipperary.

Among the 100 mines under investigation are Tynagh in Galway, Gortdrum in Tipperary, and old mine sites in the Allihies in West Cork.

In a 2006 report, the EPA estimated there were 50-80 "brownfield" sites in Ireland where there was a risk of pollution, but when former petrol stations, tanneries, dockyards, old municipal waste landfills, and railway depots are taken into account there could be up to 2,500 sites that pose a risk.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

FF-Greens deal 'must not affect' incinerator decision

DUBLIN CITY Council has warned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that any agreements between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party in relation to waste management must not affect the decision to grant a licence to the Poolbeg incinerator.

Agreements between the parties in the programme for government, or the outcome of the current review of waste management policy conducted by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, were not relevant to the EPA's consideration of the licence application, Bill Shipsey senior counsel for the local authority, said.

Mr Shipsey was making the council's closing submission yesterday on the final day of the EPA hearing on the proposal to grant a licence for the incinerator which will burn 600,000 tonnes of waste annually. It is seeking a licence to run the incinerator, having last year been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála.

Mr Gormley had, before his appointment as Minister, objected to the incinerator but is now debarred from involvement in the licensing process.

However, he is reviewing waste policy and has said he favours mechanical biological treatment, which breaks down waste, to reduce the need for incineration.

The EPA must have regard to current waste policy which favours incineration, Mr Shipsey said, and not to any future policy. "The future predictions of what might happen in relation to waste policy are irrelevant to the authority's considerations of a licence." No "credible scientific or other evidence" had been presented not to grant the licence, he added.

The hearing concluded yesterday, despite a request for an adjournment by one of the appellants, Joe McCarthy, to consider new material put forward by the council in relation to air quality.

Mr McCarthy was last week granted an adjournment to consider a new report by the council's expert on air quality and emissions, Dr Edward Porter. Mr McCarthy said the air quality was poor and in breach of environmental standards. Mr Porter said air quality was improving and would be significantly better by the time the incinerator opened in 2012.

Hearing chairwoman Maire O'Connor will consider the evidence presented and make a recommendation to the EPA.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Doctor says incinerator's effects on health not known

AN "ADEQUATE" study into the effects of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg on human health should be carried out before a licence is granted to the facility, an Environmental Protection Agency oral hearing has been told.

Prof Anthony Staines, a lecturer in epidemiology at Dublin City University, said the environmental impact statement carried out for Dublin City Council did not sufficiently "provide the basis of a reasonable judgment" on potential effects of the incinerator on people living nearby.

He said a health impact assessment (HIA) was necessary to determine if such a complex would be harmful to human health with respect to air pollution. He said this was particularly necessary as the plant was to be located in an area where some residents had poorer health compared to those in other parts of the city, due to social and historical reasons.

Prof Staines, a medical doctor and academic, said it was "at best careless, and more realistically reckless, to proceed with a major development without considering methods of minimising harm and maximising benefits to the local community" and said the execution of a HIA on such projects was common practice internationally.

Prof Staines said a HIA could cost up to €500,000 and would take some 18 months to complete.

In relation to the environmental impact statement, undertaken by Arup Consulting Engineers on behalf of the council, Prof Staines claimed that "in no case is there any serious consideration of the actual impacts of the estimated emissions on people in the local community or on human health".

Bill Shipsey SC, for the council, responded that a health impact statement was not required by law, while Ria Lyden, a chartered engineer with Arup, said the environmental impact statement found the facility would not significantly impact the environment and "no residual negative impacts are anticipated" from the construction or operation of the plant.

Dublin City Council is seeking a waste licence from the EPA to run the incinerator, which was approved by An Bord Pleanála.

JOHN LAWRENCE
Irish Times

www.buckplannng.ie

Doctor says incinerator's effects on health not known

AN "ADEQUATE" study into the effects of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg on human health should be carried out before a licence is granted to the facility, an Environmental Protection Agency oral hearing has been told.

Prof Anthony Staines, a lecturer in epidemiology at Dublin City University, said the environmental impact statement carried out for Dublin City Council did not sufficiently "provide the basis of a reasonable judgment" on potential effects of the incinerator on people living nearby.

He said a health impact assessment (HIA) was necessary to determine if such a complex would be harmful to human health with respect to air pollution. He said this was particularly necessary as the plant was to be located in an area where some residents had poorer health compared to those in other parts of the city, due to social and historical reasons.

Prof Staines, a medical doctor and academic, said it was "at best careless, and more realistically reckless, to proceed with a major development without considering methods of minimising harm and maximising benefits to the local community" and said the execution of a HIA on such projects was common practice internationally.

Prof Staines said a HIA could cost up to €500,000 and would take some 18 months to complete.

In relation to the environmental impact statement, undertaken by Arup Consulting Engineers on behalf of the council, Prof Staines claimed that "in no case is there any serious consideration of the actual impacts of the estimated emissions on people in the local community or on human health".

Bill Shipsey SC, for the council, responded that a health impact statement was not required by law, while Ria Lyden, a chartered engineer with Arup, said the environmental impact statement found the facility would not significantly impact the environment and "no residual negative impacts are anticipated" from the construction or operation of the plant.

Dublin City Council is seeking a waste licence from the EPA to run the incinerator, which was approved by An Bord Pleanála.

JOHN LAWRENCE
Irish Times

www.buckplannng.ie

Ecologist differs with residents over incinerator

A CONSULTANT ecologist differed with residents of Ringsend, Dublin, yesterday over the potential effects of a proposed incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula, an EU designated and protected area.

Eleanor Mayes, a consultant ecologist for Dublin City Council which is seeking a licence to operate the incinerator, told an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing the protected area would not be adversely affected by air emissions from the incinerator.

Ms Mayes, who holds a masters degree in Zoology from Trinity College Dublin, said she had recommended measures to mitigate the impact of the incinerator plant on wintering waterfowl.

On the basis of those mitigation measures and available information, she concluded there would be "no adverse effects" on the waterfowl population or interference with the ecological integrity and conservation status of the area.

Responding to submissions from the Combined Residents Against the Incinerator campaign and others , Ms Mayes said the use of pesticides to eliminate vermin did give rise to the potential for secondary poisoning of birds of prey.

But she said this was a potential at all sites, whether urban, industrial or rural, and she submitted that "locational considerations for the facility are not relevant in this regard".

The issue of birds scavenging on the waste was not a major factor, as it might be at a landfill, because the waste would be processed inside the building, she said.

Control of birds would only arise in respect of birds entering through vehicular access to the reception halls and a project ecologist would liaise with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in preparing a control strategy which would be submitted to the EPA for approval.

However, a spokeswoman for the residents said they had been disappointed in the assessment made by Ms Mayes.

Lorna Kelly of Combined Residents Against the Incinerator said there were population of falcons, notably the peregrine and kestrels, which would almost certainly suffer from secondary poisoning through catching poisoned vermin.

She also maintained that a population of little terns at the site of a proposed outflow pipe from the facility had not been adequately assessed.

But Ms Kelly said one of the greatest difficulties for locals was the particulated matter which would be emitted to the air, which would have a negative and cumulative impact on invertebrate and bird fauna in the protected areas of the bay.

Frances Carr, also of the combined residents association, said it was intended to bring in the noted Italian scientist Stefano Montanari, to contest evidence on emissions. It is expected Mr Montanari will give his evidence on Friday.

Assistant city manager Matt Twomey said the council, which has already received planning permission for the incinerator, must now apply for permission to the Commission for Energy Regulation, for permission to generate electricity from the combustion process, and connect the plant to the national grid.

"We need three separate permissions, but we are hopeful of getting them all," he said.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie