AN ENVIRONMENTAL impact statement (EIS) submitted by the proposers of a toxic waste incinerator in Cork harbour should be withdrawn from consideration because it does not meet required standards, according to a prominent medical scientist.
Epidemiologist and professor of health systems at Dublin City University, Anthony Staines, said Indaver Ireland’s EIS report “shows little grasp” of the practical issues associated with population health surveys.
Prof Staines was asked by anti-incinerator campaigners to review the EIS with particular reference to the estimation of human health impacts and delivered his findings at An Bord Pleanála’s oral hearing into the proposed incinerator yesterday.
The EIS, according to Dr Staines, provides no real basis from which to conclude the health impacts of the proposed incinerator.
“The writer has not done what he suggested was required, a baseline environmental analysis, followed by an estimation of the impacts of changes in this on human health. It is not possible for any reasonable person to draw any conclusions as to the health impacts of the proposed development from the EIS,” Dr Staines said.
Prof Staines, who co-authored a Health Research Board report (HRB) on the environmental effects of landfill and incineration of waste, Health and Environmental Effects of Landfilling and Incineration of Waste , said the EIS drawn up on behalf of Indaver Ireland was based wholly on secondary sources; does not take into account recent literature; includes no references for a section on dioxins; and contains no reference to potential pollutants such as cadmium and arsenic.
Prof Staines claimed that some sections of the EIS were plagiarised material, taken without reference, from his own work.
“Whole sections on health issues relating to respiratory symptoms and reproductive effects are copied, verbatim and without any attribution, from [the] HRB report. Much of the cancer section is also copied with a minor rewrite,” he said.
In his Health Research Board report, Prof Staines found that Ireland was poorly equipped to assess, monitor, and enforce human health protection and has insufficient resources to carry out “adequate risk assessments for proposed waste management facilities”. He said that although the necessary skills are available, neither the personnel nor the dedicated resources have been made available.
The professor recommended that better facilities, financial input and data banks be developed for measuring environmental damage in Ireland and he said that although some progress had been made, “the current situation is that neither the EPA, nor the local authorities, have the capacity to adequately monitor and police human health”.
The oral hearing reconvenes on Monday.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label incineration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label incineration. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Location of waste facility 'unsuitable'
AN TAISCE representatives have claimed the site location for a proposed toxic waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour as “wholly unsuitable”.
The conservation group claimed that Indaver Ireland’s site selection failed to meet the criteria for World Health Organisation guidelines for waste facilities.
In the fourth week of an oral hearing into plans to build the proposed incinerator, An Taisce’s Seán Ó Cróinín delivered a speech outlining the reason behind the group’s objection to the development, comparing Indaver’s site selection process to the story of a well-known fairytale.
“The rationale for the site selection bears no relation to site suitability but, we suspect, to chance availability of the land at a past opportune moment and the applicant is endeavouring to fit the shoe on the ugly sister’s foot rather like in the Cinderella fairytale,” he said.
An Taisce claims the incinerator would be better placed on an inland site, in the interest of public safety, residential amenity and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
“The proposal would be better served by locating in a more suitable location in an inland site with radial access and main road frontage, as is the case with all their existing thermal treatment plants elsewhere,” he added.
A spokesman for Indaver said the site was zoned for industrial use. “An Taisce’s stance on waste- to-energy differs not just from ours, but also the stated policy position . . . of Government, EU, WHO and EPA.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The conservation group claimed that Indaver Ireland’s site selection failed to meet the criteria for World Health Organisation guidelines for waste facilities.
In the fourth week of an oral hearing into plans to build the proposed incinerator, An Taisce’s Seán Ó Cróinín delivered a speech outlining the reason behind the group’s objection to the development, comparing Indaver’s site selection process to the story of a well-known fairytale.
“The rationale for the site selection bears no relation to site suitability but, we suspect, to chance availability of the land at a past opportune moment and the applicant is endeavouring to fit the shoe on the ugly sister’s foot rather like in the Cinderella fairytale,” he said.
An Taisce claims the incinerator would be better placed on an inland site, in the interest of public safety, residential amenity and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
“The proposal would be better served by locating in a more suitable location in an inland site with radial access and main road frontage, as is the case with all their existing thermal treatment plants elsewhere,” he added.
A spokesman for Indaver said the site was zoned for industrial use. “An Taisce’s stance on waste- to-energy differs not just from ours, but also the stated policy position . . . of Government, EU, WHO and EPA.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Department warns An Bord Pleanála of risks from harbour incinerators
THE Department of the Environment has lodged a submission to An Bord Pleanála outlining potential risks to human, plant and animal life from the proposed development of two e150 million incinerators at Cork Harbour.
The document which is one of approximately 284 submissions, warns of potential problems that need to be addressed if permission is granted to the 280,000 tonne hazardous and household waste incinerators.
It points out that the incinerator is within one kilometre of a European-Union designated Special Protection Area (SPA) which could be adversely affected by emissions from the incinerators. It also said that the area has more planned areas of conservation including Rostellan and Monkstown Creek.
The department warns there is also a potential risk to flora and fauna in the wider harbour area — including damage to waterbirds from mercury poisoning.
A spokesman for the department, headed by Green Minister John Gormley, last night said the submission was an objection per se.
"The minister hasn’t objected to the proposal as he is precluded by law from doing so. We have simply made comments on the proposal in the context of the possible impacts on any sensitive areas in the vicinity of the facility," he said.
A total of 284 submissions were lodged with An Bord Pleanála earlier this month, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, objecting to the controversial incinerators.
The objectors are seeking an oral hearing on Indaver’s planned development but it’s not yet known if this request will be complied with. The board could just give a green or red light to the development, without further consultation. They have stated that they want to make a final decision, either way, by mid-June.
Indaver say the incinerators are "must-have" for this country if we want to avoid hefty EU levies for sending too much waste to landfill. A planning application for a 100,000-tonne incinerator was first lodged seven years ago but by the time the planning appeal process had run its course, the original permission had expired. The second request for planning permission was made via An Bord Pleanála as the Strategic Infrastructure Act came into force in the meantime.
Objections were received from the IFA, the Irish Midwives Association, Cobh Doctors Association, East Cork Tourism, local primary and secondary schools, local school boards of management, the Allen family at Ballymaloe House and Monkstown Bay Sailing Club. Local Labour, Fine Gael and Green party TDs and councillors also objected as did Michael McGrath TD of Fianna Fáil.
Cork Harbour for a Safe Environment (CHASE) spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said the group were heartened by the level of objections and that it was much higher than they had expected.
"We were delighted to the see the minister and the department objecting as his predecessors Ministers Roche, Cullen and Dempsey wouldn’t even meet us. We are disgusted however that local people had to pay over e17,500 in total to once again make their views known," she said.
Commenting on the submissions received, an Indaver spokesperson said that many of the objections received by An Bord Pleanála were repetitive in nature.
"Ireland and Cork needs this infrastructure — our waste mountain and economy demands it," said Jane Hennessey.
CHASE have fought the planned incinerator for nearly seven years on the grounds that "the site is the wrong site" for physical reasons and that the local population will suffer adverse health consequences from dioxin emissions.
They say it flouts 13 of 14 World Health Organisation guidelines for locating incinerators including it being on a flood plain and just metres from population centres. It is also an area at risk of coastal erosion.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The document which is one of approximately 284 submissions, warns of potential problems that need to be addressed if permission is granted to the 280,000 tonne hazardous and household waste incinerators.
It points out that the incinerator is within one kilometre of a European-Union designated Special Protection Area (SPA) which could be adversely affected by emissions from the incinerators. It also said that the area has more planned areas of conservation including Rostellan and Monkstown Creek.
The department warns there is also a potential risk to flora and fauna in the wider harbour area — including damage to waterbirds from mercury poisoning.
A spokesman for the department, headed by Green Minister John Gormley, last night said the submission was an objection per se.
"The minister hasn’t objected to the proposal as he is precluded by law from doing so. We have simply made comments on the proposal in the context of the possible impacts on any sensitive areas in the vicinity of the facility," he said.
A total of 284 submissions were lodged with An Bord Pleanála earlier this month, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, objecting to the controversial incinerators.
The objectors are seeking an oral hearing on Indaver’s planned development but it’s not yet known if this request will be complied with. The board could just give a green or red light to the development, without further consultation. They have stated that they want to make a final decision, either way, by mid-June.
Indaver say the incinerators are "must-have" for this country if we want to avoid hefty EU levies for sending too much waste to landfill. A planning application for a 100,000-tonne incinerator was first lodged seven years ago but by the time the planning appeal process had run its course, the original permission had expired. The second request for planning permission was made via An Bord Pleanála as the Strategic Infrastructure Act came into force in the meantime.
Objections were received from the IFA, the Irish Midwives Association, Cobh Doctors Association, East Cork Tourism, local primary and secondary schools, local school boards of management, the Allen family at Ballymaloe House and Monkstown Bay Sailing Club. Local Labour, Fine Gael and Green party TDs and councillors also objected as did Michael McGrath TD of Fianna Fáil.
Cork Harbour for a Safe Environment (CHASE) spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said the group were heartened by the level of objections and that it was much higher than they had expected.
"We were delighted to the see the minister and the department objecting as his predecessors Ministers Roche, Cullen and Dempsey wouldn’t even meet us. We are disgusted however that local people had to pay over e17,500 in total to once again make their views known," she said.
Commenting on the submissions received, an Indaver spokesperson said that many of the objections received by An Bord Pleanála were repetitive in nature.
"Ireland and Cork needs this infrastructure — our waste mountain and economy demands it," said Jane Hennessey.
CHASE have fought the planned incinerator for nearly seven years on the grounds that "the site is the wrong site" for physical reasons and that the local population will suffer adverse health consequences from dioxin emissions.
They say it flouts 13 of 14 World Health Organisation guidelines for locating incinerators including it being on a flood plain and just metres from population centres. It is also an area at risk of coastal erosion.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Department warns An Bord Pleanála of risks from harbour incinerators
THE Department of the Environment has lodged a submission to An Bord Pleanála outlining potential risks to human, plant and animal life from the proposed development of two e150 million incinerators at Cork Harbour.
The document which is one of approximately 284 submissions, warns of potential problems that need to be addressed if permission is granted to the 280,000 tonne hazardous and household waste incinerators.
It points out that the incinerator is within one kilometre of a European-Union designated Special Protection Area (SPA) which could be adversely affected by emissions from the incinerators. It also said that the area has more planned areas of conservation including Rostellan and Monkstown Creek.
The department warns there is also a potential risk to flora and fauna in the wider harbour area — including damage to waterbirds from mercury poisoning.
A spokesman for the department, headed by Green Minister John Gormley, last night said the submission was an objection per se.
"The minister hasn’t objected to the proposal as he is precluded by law from doing so. We have simply made comments on the proposal in the context of the possible impacts on any sensitive areas in the vicinity of the facility," he said.
A total of 284 submissions were lodged with An Bord Pleanála earlier this month, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, objecting to the controversial incinerators.
The objectors are seeking an oral hearing on Indaver’s planned development but it’s not yet known if this request will be complied with. The board could just give a green or red light to the development, without further consultation. They have stated that they want to make a final decision, either way, by mid-June.
Indaver say the incinerators are "must-have" for this country if we want to avoid hefty EU levies for sending too much waste to landfill. A planning application for a 100,000-tonne incinerator was first lodged seven years ago but by the time the planning appeal process had run its course, the original permission had expired. The second request for planning permission was made via An Bord Pleanála as the Strategic Infrastructure Act came into force in the meantime.
Objections were received from the IFA, the Irish Midwives Association, Cobh Doctors Association, East Cork Tourism, local primary and secondary schools, local school boards of management, the Allen family at Ballymaloe House and Monkstown Bay Sailing Club. Local Labour, Fine Gael and Green party TDs and councillors also objected as did Michael McGrath TD of Fianna Fáil.
Cork Harbour for a Safe Environment (CHASE) spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said the group were heartened by the level of objections and that it was much higher than they had expected.
"We were delighted to the see the minister and the department objecting as his predecessors Ministers Roche, Cullen and Dempsey wouldn’t even meet us. We are disgusted however that local people had to pay over e17,500 in total to once again make their views known," she said.
Commenting on the submissions received, an Indaver spokesperson said that many of the objections received by An Bord Pleanála were repetitive in nature.
"Ireland and Cork needs this infrastructure — our waste mountain and economy demands it," said Jane Hennessey.
CHASE have fought the planned incinerator for nearly seven years on the grounds that "the site is the wrong site" for physical reasons and that the local population will suffer adverse health consequences from dioxin emissions.
They say it flouts 13 of 14 World Health Organisation guidelines for locating incinerators including it being on a flood plain and just metres from population centres. It is also an area at risk of coastal erosion.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The document which is one of approximately 284 submissions, warns of potential problems that need to be addressed if permission is granted to the 280,000 tonne hazardous and household waste incinerators.
It points out that the incinerator is within one kilometre of a European-Union designated Special Protection Area (SPA) which could be adversely affected by emissions from the incinerators. It also said that the area has more planned areas of conservation including Rostellan and Monkstown Creek.
The department warns there is also a potential risk to flora and fauna in the wider harbour area — including damage to waterbirds from mercury poisoning.
A spokesman for the department, headed by Green Minister John Gormley, last night said the submission was an objection per se.
"The minister hasn’t objected to the proposal as he is precluded by law from doing so. We have simply made comments on the proposal in the context of the possible impacts on any sensitive areas in the vicinity of the facility," he said.
A total of 284 submissions were lodged with An Bord Pleanála earlier this month, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, objecting to the controversial incinerators.
The objectors are seeking an oral hearing on Indaver’s planned development but it’s not yet known if this request will be complied with. The board could just give a green or red light to the development, without further consultation. They have stated that they want to make a final decision, either way, by mid-June.
Indaver say the incinerators are "must-have" for this country if we want to avoid hefty EU levies for sending too much waste to landfill. A planning application for a 100,000-tonne incinerator was first lodged seven years ago but by the time the planning appeal process had run its course, the original permission had expired. The second request for planning permission was made via An Bord Pleanála as the Strategic Infrastructure Act came into force in the meantime.
Objections were received from the IFA, the Irish Midwives Association, Cobh Doctors Association, East Cork Tourism, local primary and secondary schools, local school boards of management, the Allen family at Ballymaloe House and Monkstown Bay Sailing Club. Local Labour, Fine Gael and Green party TDs and councillors also objected as did Michael McGrath TD of Fianna Fáil.
Cork Harbour for a Safe Environment (CHASE) spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said the group were heartened by the level of objections and that it was much higher than they had expected.
"We were delighted to the see the minister and the department objecting as his predecessors Ministers Roche, Cullen and Dempsey wouldn’t even meet us. We are disgusted however that local people had to pay over e17,500 in total to once again make their views known," she said.
Commenting on the submissions received, an Indaver spokesperson said that many of the objections received by An Bord Pleanála were repetitive in nature.
"Ireland and Cork needs this infrastructure — our waste mountain and economy demands it," said Jane Hennessey.
CHASE have fought the planned incinerator for nearly seven years on the grounds that "the site is the wrong site" for physical reasons and that the local population will suffer adverse health consequences from dioxin emissions.
They say it flouts 13 of 14 World Health Organisation guidelines for locating incinerators including it being on a flood plain and just metres from population centres. It is also an area at risk of coastal erosion.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Hearing planned over incinerator
PLANS FOR an incinerator in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, which are opposed by South Dublin County Council, the National Roads Authority (NRA), local politicians and more than 200 residents, will be subject to a Bord Pleanála public hearing next month.
Protesters gathered outside the Green Isle Hotel in west Dublin yesterday where An Bord Pleanála held a preliminary hearing to establish how long the planning hearing was likely to last, given the large number of objectors.
A schedule for the hearing, which begins on November 12th, will be sent to all parties in the coming days. Initial indications suggest it is likely to last several weeks.
Energy Answers International, the US firm who plan to operate the incinerator, has applied directly to An Bord Pleanála for permission for the incinerator, using the "fast-track" planning process.
The Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into force in January 2007, allows applications for major infrastructural developments to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála, bypassing the usual local authority planning process.
The proposed incinerator would burn 365,000 tonnes of rubbish a year, just over half the amount of waste that would be processed in the Poolbeg incinerator for which permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála earlier this year to burn 600,000 tonnes annually.
Energy Answers International said that the plant could provide enough electricity to power 43,000 households. It would recover about 11,500 tonnes of metals and would produce more than 23,000 tonnes of an aggregate material for use in the manufacture of concrete products.
The incinerator would have been extremely unlikely to have secured permission from South Dublin County Council as the local authority has asked An Bord Pleanála to refuse permission.
The council has told the board that the incinerator is not required for the Dublin region and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
The NRA in its submission says the incinerator should be refused as the applicants had failed to demonstrate how the additional traffic generated could be accommodated on the existing road network.
Energy Answers International had also failed to address a number of safety issues, the NRA says, including the possibility of waste lorries leaving the facility "losing control" and colliding with traffic on the N7.
Liam McDermott of Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (Raid), the group which held yesterday's protest, said the incinerator would have a hugely negative impact on the environment and on the lives of the local community.
"The greatest fear of a waste incinerator that the residents of Rathcoole, Saggart, Newcastle, Lucan, Kill, Clondalkin and Tallaght have is the emission of dioxins. Also, the fear of extra traffic, strong odours and constant noise. They do not wish Rathcoole to be known as the incinerator village."
Local Fine Gael councillor Derek Keating said the development failed to comply with the objectives of the Dublin waste management plan, it would damage people's health it and would deter house buyers.
"It was clear from this preliminary oral hearing that the strongest possible representations will be made at the substantive oral hearing by the local community and the local authority to ensure that An Bord Pleanála refuses planning permission for this proposed incinerator," Mr Keating said.
Local resident and Raid member Deborah McDermott said it was "environmental injustice" to locate an incinerator near Clondalkin and Tallaght on the basis that people living there might be less likely to complain.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Protesters gathered outside the Green Isle Hotel in west Dublin yesterday where An Bord Pleanála held a preliminary hearing to establish how long the planning hearing was likely to last, given the large number of objectors.
A schedule for the hearing, which begins on November 12th, will be sent to all parties in the coming days. Initial indications suggest it is likely to last several weeks.
Energy Answers International, the US firm who plan to operate the incinerator, has applied directly to An Bord Pleanála for permission for the incinerator, using the "fast-track" planning process.
The Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into force in January 2007, allows applications for major infrastructural developments to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála, bypassing the usual local authority planning process.
The proposed incinerator would burn 365,000 tonnes of rubbish a year, just over half the amount of waste that would be processed in the Poolbeg incinerator for which permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála earlier this year to burn 600,000 tonnes annually.
Energy Answers International said that the plant could provide enough electricity to power 43,000 households. It would recover about 11,500 tonnes of metals and would produce more than 23,000 tonnes of an aggregate material for use in the manufacture of concrete products.
The incinerator would have been extremely unlikely to have secured permission from South Dublin County Council as the local authority has asked An Bord Pleanála to refuse permission.
The council has told the board that the incinerator is not required for the Dublin region and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
The NRA in its submission says the incinerator should be refused as the applicants had failed to demonstrate how the additional traffic generated could be accommodated on the existing road network.
Energy Answers International had also failed to address a number of safety issues, the NRA says, including the possibility of waste lorries leaving the facility "losing control" and colliding with traffic on the N7.
Liam McDermott of Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (Raid), the group which held yesterday's protest, said the incinerator would have a hugely negative impact on the environment and on the lives of the local community.
"The greatest fear of a waste incinerator that the residents of Rathcoole, Saggart, Newcastle, Lucan, Kill, Clondalkin and Tallaght have is the emission of dioxins. Also, the fear of extra traffic, strong odours and constant noise. They do not wish Rathcoole to be known as the incinerator village."
Local Fine Gael councillor Derek Keating said the development failed to comply with the objectives of the Dublin waste management plan, it would damage people's health it and would deter house buyers.
"It was clear from this preliminary oral hearing that the strongest possible representations will be made at the substantive oral hearing by the local community and the local authority to ensure that An Bord Pleanála refuses planning permission for this proposed incinerator," Mr Keating said.
Local resident and Raid member Deborah McDermott said it was "environmental injustice" to locate an incinerator near Clondalkin and Tallaght on the basis that people living there might be less likely to complain.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Gormley plans to publish bill on waste levies by summer
Environment minister John Gormley is close to publishing legislation on a new system of waste levies which are aimed at making incineration commercially unviable.
Gormley, who is opposed to the €250 million Poolbeg incinerator in his own Dublin South East constituency, is drawing up a new waste policy to hike landfill and incineration levies, while promoting mechanical and biological treatment of waste.
He expects to publish the new legislation before the Dáil summer recess. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held oral hearings on the proposed granting of a licence for the Poolbeg incinerator last week.
The hearings were adjourned until this Thursday to allow consideration of a new report on air quality submitted by Dublin City Council.
Gormley did not address the EPA oral hearing and a spokesman for the minister said his powers did not extend to directly intervening to stop the incinerator proceeding.
‘‘He can’t ride in on a white horse and stop the incinerator in its tracks, but our policy is that the well-managed landfill of residual waste is superior to burning it in our backyard,” said Ciaran Cuffe, the Green Party TD for Dun Laoghaire who addressed the oral hearing.
The Poolbeg incinerator would be capable of taking 600,000 tonnes of municipal waste, which is more than the amount of waste produced in the Dublin City Council area. Waste experts believe the facility would need to take waste from the rest of the country to prove viable.
However, the Green Party has claimed that this would undermine the national waste policy set out in the Fianna Fáil/Green Party Programme for Government. Cuffe said a report by Dr Brian Broderick, an air-quality expert at Trinity College, which was revealed at the hearing last week, ‘‘raises serious questions about the potential impact on air quality from the proposed incinerator’’.
Broderick, who was retained by An Bord Pleanála, said air pollutants in the area exceeded EU limits in some cases, and that the level of pollution meant there was limited capacity for further pollution, either from emissions or truck traffic.
‘‘This raises serious questions about the validity of the evidence that Dublin City Council is putting forward,” Cuffe said.
Two previous reports from Dublin City Council stated that air-quality standards in the area were within the limits laid down by the EU, and that the incinerator would not exceed these limits.
Cuffe said studies showed that the amount of residual waste for disposal after pretreatment in the country could be reduced to between 400,000 and 600,000 tonnes from 3.2 million tonnes, which would meet the terms of an EU landfill directive.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley, who is opposed to the €250 million Poolbeg incinerator in his own Dublin South East constituency, is drawing up a new waste policy to hike landfill and incineration levies, while promoting mechanical and biological treatment of waste.
He expects to publish the new legislation before the Dáil summer recess. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held oral hearings on the proposed granting of a licence for the Poolbeg incinerator last week.
The hearings were adjourned until this Thursday to allow consideration of a new report on air quality submitted by Dublin City Council.
Gormley did not address the EPA oral hearing and a spokesman for the minister said his powers did not extend to directly intervening to stop the incinerator proceeding.
‘‘He can’t ride in on a white horse and stop the incinerator in its tracks, but our policy is that the well-managed landfill of residual waste is superior to burning it in our backyard,” said Ciaran Cuffe, the Green Party TD for Dun Laoghaire who addressed the oral hearing.
The Poolbeg incinerator would be capable of taking 600,000 tonnes of municipal waste, which is more than the amount of waste produced in the Dublin City Council area. Waste experts believe the facility would need to take waste from the rest of the country to prove viable.
However, the Green Party has claimed that this would undermine the national waste policy set out in the Fianna Fáil/Green Party Programme for Government. Cuffe said a report by Dr Brian Broderick, an air-quality expert at Trinity College, which was revealed at the hearing last week, ‘‘raises serious questions about the potential impact on air quality from the proposed incinerator’’.
Broderick, who was retained by An Bord Pleanála, said air pollutants in the area exceeded EU limits in some cases, and that the level of pollution meant there was limited capacity for further pollution, either from emissions or truck traffic.
‘‘This raises serious questions about the validity of the evidence that Dublin City Council is putting forward,” Cuffe said.
Two previous reports from Dublin City Council stated that air-quality standards in the area were within the limits laid down by the EU, and that the incinerator would not exceed these limits.
Cuffe said studies showed that the amount of residual waste for disposal after pretreatment in the country could be reduced to between 400,000 and 600,000 tonnes from 3.2 million tonnes, which would meet the terms of an EU landfill directive.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Incinerator case ruling reserved
The High Court has reserved judgment on an application by local residents to adjourn two legal challenges to the proposed €75 million development of the State's first hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, pending the outcome of a legal action against Ireland in the European Court of Justice.
The European Commission has brought proceedings against Ireland based on its formal view that Ireland has failed to properly transpose into Irish law an EU directive relating to the environmental impact assessment of public and private projects, including incinerators and projects affecting important archaeological sites such as the proposed N3 motorway near the Hill of Tara.
Among the grounds on which the Ringaskiddy residents had initially challenged the proposed incinerator development is that the same directive was not properly transposed.
The State has opposed the application to adjourn two legal challenges involving the residents until the European Court of Justice has decided the matter. The State contends the High Court is bound at this stage by a Supreme Court decision earlier this year rejecting a challenge by Eric Martin to the development of an incinerator in Co Meath in which the Supreme Court dismissed claims that the directive was not properly transposed.
The Supreme Court had also refused Mr Martin's request to refer to the European Court of Justice the issue of whether the directive was properly transposed.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The European Commission has brought proceedings against Ireland based on its formal view that Ireland has failed to properly transpose into Irish law an EU directive relating to the environmental impact assessment of public and private projects, including incinerators and projects affecting important archaeological sites such as the proposed N3 motorway near the Hill of Tara.
Among the grounds on which the Ringaskiddy residents had initially challenged the proposed incinerator development is that the same directive was not properly transposed.
The State has opposed the application to adjourn two legal challenges involving the residents until the European Court of Justice has decided the matter. The State contends the High Court is bound at this stage by a Supreme Court decision earlier this year rejecting a challenge by Eric Martin to the development of an incinerator in Co Meath in which the Supreme Court dismissed claims that the directive was not properly transposed.
The Supreme Court had also refused Mr Martin's request to refer to the European Court of Justice the issue of whether the directive was properly transposed.
Mary Carolan
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Incinerators get top priority
EPA waste proposals appear to be at odds with Gormley policy
Anti-incinerator protesters: the EPA says incinerators are necessary
Ireland must build incinerators to deal with the mountain of hazardous waste we send to other countries to burn, the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) said yesterday.
Revealing that 40pc of the 284,184 tonnes of toxic waste generated annually is sent abroad, the agency said incinerators must be built if the country is to become self-sufficient in waste management.
The official call for incineration by the EPA comes just weeks after Environment Minister John Gormley, of the Green Party, said that incineration was no longer the cornerstone of Irish waste policy.
He said no more than two incinerators would be needed to deal with the residual waste that could not be recycled or landfilled.
Incineration is a cornerstone of waste policy in most environmentally-friendly and advanced EU countries, including Holland and Germany where it is even endorsed by the Greens.
The EU has told Ireland that landfilling is no longer acceptable as a means of waste disposal and that Ireland must not rely on others to incinerate its rubbish.
However, the Proposed National Hazardous Waste Management Plan for Ireland 2008-2012, published yesterday by the EPA, says if we want to be self-sufficient in waste we will have to have incinerators here. An astonishing 29,888 tonnes of hazardous waste could not be accounted for last year, according to the EPA report.
This means it did not enter the proper waste disposal system. Most of this unreported waste came from small businesses, households and from farms. It is suspected that much of this may have been disposed of illegally.
A toxic waste incinerator has been approved for Ringaskiddy in Co Cork, while municipal incinerators are planned for Carranstown in Co Meath and Ringsend in Dublin, in the heart of the minister's constituency.
The new EPA plan aims to manage, in an environmentally-sound manner, hazardous waste which can not be prevented.
The largest quantity of hazardous waste is generated by Irish industry and includes such materials as industrial solvents, waste oils, industrial sludges and chemical wastes.
Dr Gerry Byrne, programme manager of the EPA's Office of Climate, Licensing and Resource Use, said there was room for improvement in the collection of hazardous waste from from households, small businesses and farms.
A total of 284,184 tonnes of hazardous waste was collected last year, an 8pc decrease since 2004. Some 47pc of this was exported for treatment and disposal, mostly for incineration and for use as fuel.
Some of it was used for solvent recovery and landfill. The balance is treated at the industrial facilities where it originates or in a network of 15 authorised hazardous waste treatment facilities in Ireland.
The proposed plan makes 30 recommendations, including the introduction of a comprehensive and accessible network of local drop-off facilities for householders and small businesses for hazardous waste.
A move towards more self-sufficiency is also recommended in the report.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Anti-incinerator protesters: the EPA says incinerators are necessary
Ireland must build incinerators to deal with the mountain of hazardous waste we send to other countries to burn, the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) said yesterday.
Revealing that 40pc of the 284,184 tonnes of toxic waste generated annually is sent abroad, the agency said incinerators must be built if the country is to become self-sufficient in waste management.
The official call for incineration by the EPA comes just weeks after Environment Minister John Gormley, of the Green Party, said that incineration was no longer the cornerstone of Irish waste policy.
He said no more than two incinerators would be needed to deal with the residual waste that could not be recycled or landfilled.
Incineration is a cornerstone of waste policy in most environmentally-friendly and advanced EU countries, including Holland and Germany where it is even endorsed by the Greens.
The EU has told Ireland that landfilling is no longer acceptable as a means of waste disposal and that Ireland must not rely on others to incinerate its rubbish.
However, the Proposed National Hazardous Waste Management Plan for Ireland 2008-2012, published yesterday by the EPA, says if we want to be self-sufficient in waste we will have to have incinerators here. An astonishing 29,888 tonnes of hazardous waste could not be accounted for last year, according to the EPA report.
This means it did not enter the proper waste disposal system. Most of this unreported waste came from small businesses, households and from farms. It is suspected that much of this may have been disposed of illegally.
A toxic waste incinerator has been approved for Ringaskiddy in Co Cork, while municipal incinerators are planned for Carranstown in Co Meath and Ringsend in Dublin, in the heart of the minister's constituency.
The new EPA plan aims to manage, in an environmentally-sound manner, hazardous waste which can not be prevented.
The largest quantity of hazardous waste is generated by Irish industry and includes such materials as industrial solvents, waste oils, industrial sludges and chemical wastes.
Dr Gerry Byrne, programme manager of the EPA's Office of Climate, Licensing and Resource Use, said there was room for improvement in the collection of hazardous waste from from households, small businesses and farms.
A total of 284,184 tonnes of hazardous waste was collected last year, an 8pc decrease since 2004. Some 47pc of this was exported for treatment and disposal, mostly for incineration and for use as fuel.
Some of it was used for solvent recovery and landfill. The balance is treated at the industrial facilities where it originates or in a network of 15 authorised hazardous waste treatment facilities in Ireland.
The proposed plan makes 30 recommendations, including the introduction of a comprehensive and accessible network of local drop-off facilities for householders and small businesses for hazardous waste.
A move towards more self-sufficiency is also recommended in the report.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 1 November 2007
Europe ruling to affect incinerator challenge outcome
A RESIDENTS’ challenge by to a €75 million plan for the State’s first hazardous waste incinerator in Co Cork will be profoundly affected by the European Commission’s decision to bring a legal action against Ireland, the High Court was told yesterday.
The commission’s case is based on its view that Ireland has failed to properly transpose into law an EC directive relating to the environmental impact assessment of public and private projects, including incinerators and projects affecting archaeological sites such as the proposed N3 motorway near the Hill of Tara.
Among the grounds on which the Ringaskiddy residents challenged the incinerator development is that the same EC directive was not properly transposed.
However, the State is opposing an application by the residents to adjourn their legal challenge until the European Court of Justice has decided the matter. The hearing of that application adjournment opened yesterday before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and continues today.
The State is insisting that the High Court is bound at this stage by a Supreme Court decision earlier this year rejecting a challenge by Eric Martin to the development of an incinerator in Co Meath, in which the Supreme Court dismissed claims that the EIA directive was not properly transposed. The Supreme Court had also refused Mr Martin’s request to refer to the European Court of Justice the issue of whether the directive was properly transposed.
If the European Court of Justice decides the directive was not properly given effect to, then that decision effectively nullifies the Supreme Court decision as European law takes precedence over domestic law, Michael Collins SC, for the residents, said yesterday.
In those circumstances, he asked the judge to adjourn the two sets of proceedings challenging the development until the European Court gave its decision.
The court was due yesterday to begin hearing a judicial review challenge by several local people to the development. That action is against An Bord Pleanála and the State and arises from the board’s decision on January 15, 2004, granting permission to Indaver NV, trading as Indaver Ireland, to construct the development.
In the second proceedings, the Ringaskiddy and District Residents’ Association are seeking leave from the court to bring proceedings against the Environmental Protection Agency and the State.
Among the grounds on which the residents secured leave to bring their challenge against An Bord Pleanála and the State was a claim that the Environmental Impact Statement submitted by Indaver was inadequate. That case was put on hold pending the outcome of Mr Martin’s challenge.
Following the Supreme Court rejection of Mr Martin’s case, the residents effectively abandoned the grounds relating to the EIA directive but say they want to await the result of the European Court of Justice case.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The commission’s case is based on its view that Ireland has failed to properly transpose into law an EC directive relating to the environmental impact assessment of public and private projects, including incinerators and projects affecting archaeological sites such as the proposed N3 motorway near the Hill of Tara.
Among the grounds on which the Ringaskiddy residents challenged the incinerator development is that the same EC directive was not properly transposed.
However, the State is opposing an application by the residents to adjourn their legal challenge until the European Court of Justice has decided the matter. The hearing of that application adjournment opened yesterday before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and continues today.
The State is insisting that the High Court is bound at this stage by a Supreme Court decision earlier this year rejecting a challenge by Eric Martin to the development of an incinerator in Co Meath, in which the Supreme Court dismissed claims that the EIA directive was not properly transposed. The Supreme Court had also refused Mr Martin’s request to refer to the European Court of Justice the issue of whether the directive was properly transposed.
If the European Court of Justice decides the directive was not properly given effect to, then that decision effectively nullifies the Supreme Court decision as European law takes precedence over domestic law, Michael Collins SC, for the residents, said yesterday.
In those circumstances, he asked the judge to adjourn the two sets of proceedings challenging the development until the European Court gave its decision.
The court was due yesterday to begin hearing a judicial review challenge by several local people to the development. That action is against An Bord Pleanála and the State and arises from the board’s decision on January 15, 2004, granting permission to Indaver NV, trading as Indaver Ireland, to construct the development.
In the second proceedings, the Ringaskiddy and District Residents’ Association are seeking leave from the court to bring proceedings against the Environmental Protection Agency and the State.
Among the grounds on which the residents secured leave to bring their challenge against An Bord Pleanála and the State was a claim that the Environmental Impact Statement submitted by Indaver was inadequate. That case was put on hold pending the outcome of Mr Martin’s challenge.
Following the Supreme Court rejection of Mr Martin’s case, the residents effectively abandoned the grounds relating to the EIA directive but say they want to await the result of the European Court of Justice case.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 26 October 2007
Incinerators spark clash between Ahern and Green Party
THE NUMBER of incinerators needed in the future sparked a clash between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the Green Party yesterday.
Mr Ahern said four incinerators would be needed, a fortnight after Green Party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley declared Ireland might need only two.
There are no fewer than eight incinerator projects at various stages of the planning process, however -- and Mr Gormley has declared that he cannot interfere with that conveyor belt.
Mr Ahern said: "There are major applications for incinerators in the planning process. Perhaps we will not need eight incinerators -- four was the number mentioned in a number of reports."
In two applications, the capacity being sought is higher than what was originally planned, the taoiseach noted.
But he added: "If we go with the most modern technology we would not need the number that had been envisaged."
The difference led to Opposition claims that the taoiseach was "talking up" the number of incinerators needed, whereas Mr Gormley had been talking it down.
Fine Gael spokesman Phil Hogan said there was a split between the coalition partners on incineration. The Government's waste management strategy was "in complete disarray," he said.
"There is a rift between John Gormley and Bertie Ahern a mile wide," he added.
Irish Independent
Mr Ahern said four incinerators would be needed, a fortnight after Green Party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley declared Ireland might need only two.
There are no fewer than eight incinerator projects at various stages of the planning process, however -- and Mr Gormley has declared that he cannot interfere with that conveyor belt.
Mr Ahern said: "There are major applications for incinerators in the planning process. Perhaps we will not need eight incinerators -- four was the number mentioned in a number of reports."
In two applications, the capacity being sought is higher than what was originally planned, the taoiseach noted.
But he added: "If we go with the most modern technology we would not need the number that had been envisaged."
The difference led to Opposition claims that the taoiseach was "talking up" the number of incinerators needed, whereas Mr Gormley had been talking it down.
Fine Gael spokesman Phil Hogan said there was a split between the coalition partners on incineration. The Government's waste management strategy was "in complete disarray," he said.
"There is a rift between John Gormley and Bertie Ahern a mile wide," he added.
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Controversial incinerator decision
DUBLIN'S rubbish could be sent to Meath to be burnt following a decision yesterday which gives the go-ahead for the massive expansion of a controversial incinerator and allows it to take in waste from outside the county.
Indaver has plans for another plant in Co Cork, and between both could process 400,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The Poolbeg plant is designed to handle up to 700,000 tonnes of waste a year, and a decision on whether it will go-ahead is expected by the end of the month.
An Bord Pleanala yesterday approved an increase in the Indaver Ireland plant, which will allow it process 200,000 tonnes of household rubbish a year instead of the 150,000 tonnes approved earlier.
The decision was greeted with dismay by objectors, with the Labour Party saying it gave Indaver "carte blanche" to burn rubbish from other regions which would turn Meath into a "dumping ground for Dublin".
Green party councillor Mark Dearey accused the board of taking "no account" of Minister Gormley's opposition to incineration, while Fine Gael claimed that local roads could not handle the increased volume of traffic that would arise.
The No Incineration Alliance, which includes local residents, said it was a "great disappointment" that it was approved, adding it would continue to oppose incineration.
The planning board's decision includes 31 conditions, the most significant of which allows Indaver to accept waste from other counties in the North East region.
But the so-called 'proximity principle' also clears the way for the Meath plant to take waste from the capital. But Dublin City Council said there was "no plan" to bring the capital's waste to Meath.
Yesterday, CEO of Indaver Ireland, John Ahern, said work would begin on the €100m plant next year with a view to opening for business in 2011.
A review of waste management policy to be undertaken next year would explore alternatives to incineration including mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) and other technologies.
However, another seven incinerators are planned for Ireland, including the Poolbeg proposal. A spokesman for Environment Minister John Gormley said last night that he had no statutory power to interfere with the granting of planning permission to incinerators -- even though a queue of heat treatment plants are already in the process. He admitted there could be an over-supply of incinerators if all the planned establishments were built, since An Bord Pleanala is independent of the political process.
Irish Independent
Indaver has plans for another plant in Co Cork, and between both could process 400,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The Poolbeg plant is designed to handle up to 700,000 tonnes of waste a year, and a decision on whether it will go-ahead is expected by the end of the month.
An Bord Pleanala yesterday approved an increase in the Indaver Ireland plant, which will allow it process 200,000 tonnes of household rubbish a year instead of the 150,000 tonnes approved earlier.
The decision was greeted with dismay by objectors, with the Labour Party saying it gave Indaver "carte blanche" to burn rubbish from other regions which would turn Meath into a "dumping ground for Dublin".
Green party councillor Mark Dearey accused the board of taking "no account" of Minister Gormley's opposition to incineration, while Fine Gael claimed that local roads could not handle the increased volume of traffic that would arise.
The No Incineration Alliance, which includes local residents, said it was a "great disappointment" that it was approved, adding it would continue to oppose incineration.
The planning board's decision includes 31 conditions, the most significant of which allows Indaver to accept waste from other counties in the North East region.
But the so-called 'proximity principle' also clears the way for the Meath plant to take waste from the capital. But Dublin City Council said there was "no plan" to bring the capital's waste to Meath.
Yesterday, CEO of Indaver Ireland, John Ahern, said work would begin on the €100m plant next year with a view to opening for business in 2011.
A review of waste management policy to be undertaken next year would explore alternatives to incineration including mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) and other technologies.
However, another seven incinerators are planned for Ireland, including the Poolbeg proposal. A spokesman for Environment Minister John Gormley said last night that he had no statutory power to interfere with the granting of planning permission to incinerators -- even though a queue of heat treatment plants are already in the process. He admitted there could be an over-supply of incinerators if all the planned establishments were built, since An Bord Pleanala is independent of the political process.
Irish Independent
Permission to expand Meath incinerator sparks outrage
ANTI-INCINERATION groups have criticised An Bord Pleanála’s decision yesterday to grant permission to Indaver Ireland to increase the size of its Co Meath incinerator by a third.
Following yesterday’s decision, the plant at Carronstown can now cater for 200,000 tonnes of waste per year — instead of 150,000 tonnes. Indaver says the waste-to-energy plant will generate enough energy for 19,000 homes.
Anti-incineration campaigners and opposition parties have warned that Meath is about to become Dublin’s “dumping ground” as in its conditions, An Bord Pleanála said that Indaver can take waste from outside the north-east.
However, Dublin City Council last night issued a statement saying it “will need to find its own solution to its waste problem” and that it has no plan to ship Dublin’s waste to Co Meath.
The No Incineration Alliance said the decision rendered the Programme for Government useless while their Cork-based counterparts, Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), said the decision “flew in the face of government declarations that incineration is no longer the cornerstone of Irish Waste Management Policy”.
“The Programme for Government states the cornerstone of a waste management strategy will be based on reduction, re-use and recycling, with the introduction of brown bins, pay by weight and the investigation of technologies such as MBT (mechanical biological treatment). The only mention of incineration in the Programme for Government is to note that there will be no introduction of a landfill levy,” said the alliance’s Aine Walsh.
Indaver welcomed the move saying the project was one of the most scrutinised planning proposals in the history of the State.
“Two Bord Pleanála rulings, two High Court rulings, a Supreme Court ruling and an EPA licensing ruling have all found in favour of the project,” a spokesman said. Construction of the incinerator is due to begin next year.
Sinn Féin environment spokesman Martin Ferris accused Environment Minister John Gormley of taking a NIMBY (not in my back yard) approach to incineration.
“It’s clear the minister was talking about the incinerators in Meath and Cork, and not the one in his own constituency, when he spoke last week of the State needing to burn 400,000 tonnes of rubbish as this will now be the combined capacity of the Meath and Cork plants,” he said.
The Labour Party’s East Meath Senator, Dominic Hannigan, said “government waste management policy is in complete disarray. Before the general election the Green Party were vehemently against incineration but now they are accepting incineration will continue to be a part of Ireland’s answer to waste disposal”.
CHASE opposes the construction of a 100,000 tonne toxic waste incinerator and 100,000 tonne municipal waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy. Planning, which applies only to the toxic waste incinerator, is being appealed. Their case against the toxic waste division will be heard at the High Court at the end of the month.
Irish Examiner
Following yesterday’s decision, the plant at Carronstown can now cater for 200,000 tonnes of waste per year — instead of 150,000 tonnes. Indaver says the waste-to-energy plant will generate enough energy for 19,000 homes.
Anti-incineration campaigners and opposition parties have warned that Meath is about to become Dublin’s “dumping ground” as in its conditions, An Bord Pleanála said that Indaver can take waste from outside the north-east.
However, Dublin City Council last night issued a statement saying it “will need to find its own solution to its waste problem” and that it has no plan to ship Dublin’s waste to Co Meath.
The No Incineration Alliance said the decision rendered the Programme for Government useless while their Cork-based counterparts, Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), said the decision “flew in the face of government declarations that incineration is no longer the cornerstone of Irish Waste Management Policy”.
“The Programme for Government states the cornerstone of a waste management strategy will be based on reduction, re-use and recycling, with the introduction of brown bins, pay by weight and the investigation of technologies such as MBT (mechanical biological treatment). The only mention of incineration in the Programme for Government is to note that there will be no introduction of a landfill levy,” said the alliance’s Aine Walsh.
Indaver welcomed the move saying the project was one of the most scrutinised planning proposals in the history of the State.
“Two Bord Pleanála rulings, two High Court rulings, a Supreme Court ruling and an EPA licensing ruling have all found in favour of the project,” a spokesman said. Construction of the incinerator is due to begin next year.
Sinn Féin environment spokesman Martin Ferris accused Environment Minister John Gormley of taking a NIMBY (not in my back yard) approach to incineration.
“It’s clear the minister was talking about the incinerators in Meath and Cork, and not the one in his own constituency, when he spoke last week of the State needing to burn 400,000 tonnes of rubbish as this will now be the combined capacity of the Meath and Cork plants,” he said.
The Labour Party’s East Meath Senator, Dominic Hannigan, said “government waste management policy is in complete disarray. Before the general election the Green Party were vehemently against incineration but now they are accepting incineration will continue to be a part of Ireland’s answer to waste disposal”.
CHASE opposes the construction of a 100,000 tonne toxic waste incinerator and 100,000 tonne municipal waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy. Planning, which applies only to the toxic waste incinerator, is being appealed. Their case against the toxic waste division will be heard at the High Court at the end of the month.
Irish Examiner
Friday, 3 August 2007
Gormley moves against incineration projects
The government is set to deliver a crippling blow to the long-term viability of incineration projects in Ireland.
The Sunday Business Post has learned that Minister for the Environment John Gormley has told local authorities in recent days that any move to skew waste management in favour of thermal incineration and landfill would be blocked.
The move will see councils prevented from entering into agreements to divert set amounts of municipal waste to major landfill and incineration operators, significantly diminishing the viability of future projects.
Gormley told all city and county managers that mechanical and biological waste must be recycled and composted.
The move is also a major blow to plans for super-incinerators in Meath and Cork, and may also have a critical effect on plans underway to develop an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.
It follows months of speculation over the future of Indaver Ireland’s planned €200 million investment in incineration projects at Ringaskiddy in Cork and Carranstown in Meath.
The company has stopped work on its projects, arguing that landfill has to be made more expensive to ensure that there is enough waste to burn.
Such a concession has already been blocked as part of the agreed programme for government between Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
In the document, which has been seen by this newspaper, local authority managers have been told that they will not be permitted to enter into ‘put or pay’ clauses that would facilitate the supply of minimum quantities of waste to thermal treatment or landfill.
John Burke
© Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post has learned that Minister for the Environment John Gormley has told local authorities in recent days that any move to skew waste management in favour of thermal incineration and landfill would be blocked.
The move will see councils prevented from entering into agreements to divert set amounts of municipal waste to major landfill and incineration operators, significantly diminishing the viability of future projects.
Gormley told all city and county managers that mechanical and biological waste must be recycled and composted.
The move is also a major blow to plans for super-incinerators in Meath and Cork, and may also have a critical effect on plans underway to develop an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.
It follows months of speculation over the future of Indaver Ireland’s planned €200 million investment in incineration projects at Ringaskiddy in Cork and Carranstown in Meath.
The company has stopped work on its projects, arguing that landfill has to be made more expensive to ensure that there is enough waste to burn.
Such a concession has already been blocked as part of the agreed programme for government between Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
In the document, which has been seen by this newspaper, local authority managers have been told that they will not be permitted to enter into ‘put or pay’ clauses that would facilitate the supply of minimum quantities of waste to thermal treatment or landfill.
John Burke
© Sunday Business Post
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
FG attack Gormley over u-turn on incineration
ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley was under pressure from Opposition TDs last night over the Green Party's u-turn on incineration since it went into Government.
Proposing a Fine Gael Dail motion against the building of an incinerator at Poolbeg, Dublin, Fergus O'Dowd said Mr Gormley was before them "in his most brazen act of duplicity" in opposing the motion which stated there was no electoral mandate for an incinerator. Mr O'Dowd said only last year Mr Gormley had presented in the Dail a "well-thought out, well presented Green Party motion that attacked incineration".
"Your cop-out is spectacular and has sold your voters and all those in and near Poolbeg, down the river," Mr O'Dowd said to the minister. Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton said the minister's silence on the issue was "deafening".
She said he had shied away from the issue when he negotiated the Programme for Government and since then he had sheepishly avoided it.
Mr Gormley pointed out that he lives in Ringsend with his family and his position as a public representative for Dublin South East and as a resident in regard to the project was "well known, entirely consistent and second to none".
However, he said he was Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and in that capacity he had to act under and be respectful of, restrictions placed on him by primary legislation, enacted by the Oireachtas. There was very clear limitation of the ministers' power under the planning and development act, he said. In light of that, it would not be appropriate for the minister to comment or interfere with the case regarding the incinerator which is before An Bord Pleanala and the Opposition knew that, Mr Gormley said.
He said the Green Party had opposed incinerators. "Unlike other parties his words have been matched by actions," said Green Junior Minister Trevor Sargent, reminding the House that Mr Gormley had been taken to court for his opposition to incineration.
Geraldine Collins
Irish Independent
Proposing a Fine Gael Dail motion against the building of an incinerator at Poolbeg, Dublin, Fergus O'Dowd said Mr Gormley was before them "in his most brazen act of duplicity" in opposing the motion which stated there was no electoral mandate for an incinerator. Mr O'Dowd said only last year Mr Gormley had presented in the Dail a "well-thought out, well presented Green Party motion that attacked incineration".
"Your cop-out is spectacular and has sold your voters and all those in and near Poolbeg, down the river," Mr O'Dowd said to the minister. Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton said the minister's silence on the issue was "deafening".
She said he had shied away from the issue when he negotiated the Programme for Government and since then he had sheepishly avoided it.
Mr Gormley pointed out that he lives in Ringsend with his family and his position as a public representative for Dublin South East and as a resident in regard to the project was "well known, entirely consistent and second to none".
However, he said he was Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and in that capacity he had to act under and be respectful of, restrictions placed on him by primary legislation, enacted by the Oireachtas. There was very clear limitation of the ministers' power under the planning and development act, he said. In light of that, it would not be appropriate for the minister to comment or interfere with the case regarding the incinerator which is before An Bord Pleanala and the Opposition knew that, Mr Gormley said.
He said the Green Party had opposed incinerators. "Unlike other parties his words have been matched by actions," said Green Junior Minister Trevor Sargent, reminding the House that Mr Gormley had been taken to court for his opposition to incineration.
Geraldine Collins
Irish Independent
Friday, 2 March 2007
Councils to insist on incineration
Local authorities in Dublin are planning to make it a legal requirement that a large proportion of waste collected by private firms in the Dublin area is sent for incineration.
The councils are to insist that the bulk of waste now going to landfill must instead be sent for thermal treatment once the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg is open and operational.
The move is being seen by some private waste firms as an attempt to ensure that the Poolbeg incinerator will be commercially viable, a charge that the local authorities reject. Legal challenges by private waste firms are expected when the requirement is introduced.
The direction is expected to be included in all new waste permits issued to private waste firms and will stipulate that a specific proportion of the non-recyclable waste collected is sent for thermal treatment. The amount of waste involved could be as high as 300,000 tonnes.
Representatives of waste firms were informed of the proposal at a meeting with local authority officials last month to discuss a major review of the current
waste permit system. At present there is no stipulation in permits directing firms on where they should take their waste.
Assistant city manager Matt Twomey, who is responsible for waste policy in the Dublin region, said the direction was in line with the region's waste management policy.
He said the policy stipulated that thermal treatment was seen as a better environmental option than landfill and that this hierarchy should be adhered to.
"It's an objective in the waste-management policy to direct waste to the appropriate facilities in the waste hierarchy," he said. "The objective is to achieve the best possible diversion away from landfill."
He said there would also be directions on organic material such as kitchen and garden waste, requiring it to be sent for biological treatment, which will be available at two facilities currently being planned.
Materials collected for recycling would remain unaffected by the thermal treatment direction. He rejected suggestions that the direction would amount to a landfill ban. "There will always be a requirement for landfill," he said.
Mr Twomey also rejected suggestions that the direction could be anti-competitive, as the council will operate the only incinerator in the region. Similar directions were in place in other jurisdictions and had been upheld by the European courts.
Representatives of waste firms were not commenting in public on the proposed direction until it is published in the coming months, as part of the permit review plans. It is understood that a number of firms are to consider legal challenges against any such proposal.
Discussions are ongoing between the council and owners of the private firm which won the contract to design, build and operate the facility.
Danish Oil and Natural Gas (Dong) the new owners of Elsam, which won the contract, has sought significant changes to the financing of the contract, which the council has rejected.
A decision on the future involvement of Dong is expected in the coming weeks, but Dublin City Council has insisted it will not affect the timetable of the incinerator project.
Liam Reid
© 2007 The Irish Times
The councils are to insist that the bulk of waste now going to landfill must instead be sent for thermal treatment once the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg is open and operational.
The move is being seen by some private waste firms as an attempt to ensure that the Poolbeg incinerator will be commercially viable, a charge that the local authorities reject. Legal challenges by private waste firms are expected when the requirement is introduced.
The direction is expected to be included in all new waste permits issued to private waste firms and will stipulate that a specific proportion of the non-recyclable waste collected is sent for thermal treatment. The amount of waste involved could be as high as 300,000 tonnes.
Representatives of waste firms were informed of the proposal at a meeting with local authority officials last month to discuss a major review of the current
waste permit system. At present there is no stipulation in permits directing firms on where they should take their waste.
Assistant city manager Matt Twomey, who is responsible for waste policy in the Dublin region, said the direction was in line with the region's waste management policy.
He said the policy stipulated that thermal treatment was seen as a better environmental option than landfill and that this hierarchy should be adhered to.
"It's an objective in the waste-management policy to direct waste to the appropriate facilities in the waste hierarchy," he said. "The objective is to achieve the best possible diversion away from landfill."
He said there would also be directions on organic material such as kitchen and garden waste, requiring it to be sent for biological treatment, which will be available at two facilities currently being planned.
Materials collected for recycling would remain unaffected by the thermal treatment direction. He rejected suggestions that the direction would amount to a landfill ban. "There will always be a requirement for landfill," he said.
Mr Twomey also rejected suggestions that the direction could be anti-competitive, as the council will operate the only incinerator in the region. Similar directions were in place in other jurisdictions and had been upheld by the European courts.
Representatives of waste firms were not commenting in public on the proposed direction until it is published in the coming months, as part of the permit review plans. It is understood that a number of firms are to consider legal challenges against any such proposal.
Discussions are ongoing between the council and owners of the private firm which won the contract to design, build and operate the facility.
Danish Oil and Natural Gas (Dong) the new owners of Elsam, which won the contract, has sought significant changes to the financing of the contract, which the council has rejected.
A decision on the future involvement of Dong is expected in the coming weeks, but Dublin City Council has insisted it will not affect the timetable of the incinerator project.
Liam Reid
© 2007 The Irish Times
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