A CHAMPION racehorse trainer has expressed his delight after plans for a major incinerator in the heart of the equine industry were rejected yesterday.
Ted Walsh, who trained English Grand National winner Papillon, said the "Thoroughbred County" of Kildare didn't want a "bad neighbour" on its doorstep.
Mr Walsh was preparing to travel to Dundalk for horse trials when he heard the news that An Bord Pleanala had refused the application by US company, Energy Answers International (EAI), to build the €250m facility off the N7 at Rathcoole, Co Dublin, on three grounds.
The board found the incinerator would pose an "unacceptable risk of pollution" in its refusal. It said a separate incinerator was already approved for south Dublin at Poolbeg.
It also stated that the project would create "significant traffic" including a "large percentage of heavy commercial vehicles" in the area.
Objections
Almost 300 objections to the project had been lodged with An Bord Pleanala, including a number of high-profile submissions from the Kildare equine industry.
The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Naas Race Course, Kildare Equestrian Centre and Ted Walsh opposed the development.
"There are a lot of very learned people in An Bord Pleanala and they heard everybody's objections," Mr Walsh told the Irish Independent yesterday.
"They weighed it up and saw that the minuses far outnumbered the pluses.
"I'm sure everybody, like myself, who is a resident or within walking distance of the incinerator is very happy."
Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (RAID), which mounted a high-profile campaign against the waste facility, said the "common people" were "exhilarated" by the decision.
However, spokesman for the group, Liam McDermott, said they were also "very angry that an American company could cost ordinary people €85,000".
An Bord Pleanala has directed EAI to pay a portion of RAID's costs.
However, the shortfall is being made up locally through fundraising.
"You have to have the experts behind you if you go into any oral hearing. That's what we did," said Mr McDermott.
The Kill Group Stables in Co Kildare said they were "over the moon" at the decision.
Kildare North TD Emmet Stagg said it was a "victory for people power". Dublin Mid-West Senator Frances Fitzgerald added that the planned incinerator was "excessive".
The National Roads Authority (NRA) had objected to the application because of the potential effects on traffic congestion on the N7. "It's imperative you don't diminish the value of the infrastructure when we are spending billions of euro around the country," said the NRA's Sean O'Neill.
Meanwhile, EAI said it was "disappointed" at the decision of the planning appeals body as it had put forward a "strong case". "The total investment by Energy Answers International in this project would have amounted to approximately €250m," a statement from the company said. It added that the project would have created up to 300 jobs during the construction period and almost 80 long-term jobs.
"Additionally, the project would have generated annual wages and benefits in the region of €7.1m and the projected amount of goods and services sourced locally would have been approximately €23.2m per year," the company said.
EAI now faces a bill of €142,380 towards costs incurred by objectors, including planning authorities and RAID.
Eimear Ni Bhraonain and Louise Hogan
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label rathcoole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rathcoole. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Rathcoole incinerator proposal rejected
THE COMPANY behind a €250 million waste-to-energy plant proposed for Rathcoole in west Dublin is to meet its advisers this morning to see if there is any future for the plan, following announcement of its rejection yesterday by An Bord Pleanála.
The board’s strategic infrastructure division cited three reasons for refusing the project: the fact that the plant would be “in conflict” with the Dublin waste management plan which relies on the already-approved Poolbeg incinerator; traffic volumes and access to the N7; and the facility’s stack height which would constitute “an unacceptable risk of pollution of the environment”.
An Bord Pleanála also ordered that Energy Answers International Ltd, a subsidiary of the US waste-to-energy company Energy Answers International Inc, pay almost €150,000 towards costs incurred by the objectors along with its own.
In a statement after the decision was announced yesterday, Energy Answers International expressed its “disappointment”.
The company said it believed it had put forward a strong case for the project and it would have created up to 300 jobs during the 2½-year construction period, with annual wages in the region of €7.1 million.
Energy Answers International claimed the projected amount of goods and services sourced locally would have been approximately €23.2 million per year.
The company said it would study the refusal before making a decision on the future of the project.
Sources added that the company would be meeting its planning advisers this morning to see if the proposal had any future.
While it is understood the developer believes the issues of traffic access and stack height could be overcome, sources said it was difficult to see how the issue of conflict with the Dublin waste management plan could be set aside.
Rathcoole Against Incineration Dioxins (Raid) spokesman Liam McDermott said the refusal of the planning application should pressurise the Government into creating “other ways of dealing with our waste – that is, recycling, composting and biodegradable methods.
“Not alone are those methods more environmentally friendly but they will create thousands of much-needed jobs throughout the country.”
A clearly delighted Mr McDermott said locals were “excited, exuberant, exhilarated and enthralled with indescribable emotion at the news that An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission to Energy Answers to build a waste incinerator at Behan’s Quarry in Rathcoole”.
Mr McDermott said the group had been “always confident” of the outcome: “Champagne corks will be popping in Rathcoole, Saggart and Newcastle and the Raid committee hope that their huge campaign will offer great hope and encouragement to other committees throughout the country who are opposing similar planning applications.”
The decision was also welcomed by a number of local politicians, among them the Fine Gael leader in the Seanad, Frances Fitzgerald, who gave evidence at the oral hearing. She said Fine Gael had “always maintained that Dublin didn’t need another incinerator, particularly now when a review of waste management strategy is under way”.
Ms Fitzgerald described the decision as “a complete victory for the communities of Rathcoole, Saggart, Clondalkin, Newcastle and Brittas . . . This is proof that if people unite and work solidly together, change for the better is possible.
“Today is a victory for people power in the planning process,” Ms Fitzgerald concluded.
The decision was also welcomed by Labour TDs Joanna Tuffy of Dublin Mid West and Emmet Stagg of Kildare North.
“Having made a submission to An Bord Pleanála and attended oral hearing where I spoke out against the proposals, I am delighted with today’s decision to refuse permission to the proposed incinerator at Rathcoole,” said Ms Tuffy.
Mr Stagg said the decision represented “a victory for people power. I would like to congratulate the various groups and people in Kill who mounted a strong campaign against this proposed incinerator, and would like to praise in particular the campaign organised by Carole Collins from The Stables in Kill.
“The proposal is now dead in the water and the residents of Kill, Johnstown, Eadestown, Rathmore and Kilteel should celebrate their victory,” he added.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The board’s strategic infrastructure division cited three reasons for refusing the project: the fact that the plant would be “in conflict” with the Dublin waste management plan which relies on the already-approved Poolbeg incinerator; traffic volumes and access to the N7; and the facility’s stack height which would constitute “an unacceptable risk of pollution of the environment”.
An Bord Pleanála also ordered that Energy Answers International Ltd, a subsidiary of the US waste-to-energy company Energy Answers International Inc, pay almost €150,000 towards costs incurred by the objectors along with its own.
In a statement after the decision was announced yesterday, Energy Answers International expressed its “disappointment”.
The company said it believed it had put forward a strong case for the project and it would have created up to 300 jobs during the 2½-year construction period, with annual wages in the region of €7.1 million.
Energy Answers International claimed the projected amount of goods and services sourced locally would have been approximately €23.2 million per year.
The company said it would study the refusal before making a decision on the future of the project.
Sources added that the company would be meeting its planning advisers this morning to see if the proposal had any future.
While it is understood the developer believes the issues of traffic access and stack height could be overcome, sources said it was difficult to see how the issue of conflict with the Dublin waste management plan could be set aside.
Rathcoole Against Incineration Dioxins (Raid) spokesman Liam McDermott said the refusal of the planning application should pressurise the Government into creating “other ways of dealing with our waste – that is, recycling, composting and biodegradable methods.
“Not alone are those methods more environmentally friendly but they will create thousands of much-needed jobs throughout the country.”
A clearly delighted Mr McDermott said locals were “excited, exuberant, exhilarated and enthralled with indescribable emotion at the news that An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission to Energy Answers to build a waste incinerator at Behan’s Quarry in Rathcoole”.
Mr McDermott said the group had been “always confident” of the outcome: “Champagne corks will be popping in Rathcoole, Saggart and Newcastle and the Raid committee hope that their huge campaign will offer great hope and encouragement to other committees throughout the country who are opposing similar planning applications.”
The decision was also welcomed by a number of local politicians, among them the Fine Gael leader in the Seanad, Frances Fitzgerald, who gave evidence at the oral hearing. She said Fine Gael had “always maintained that Dublin didn’t need another incinerator, particularly now when a review of waste management strategy is under way”.
Ms Fitzgerald described the decision as “a complete victory for the communities of Rathcoole, Saggart, Clondalkin, Newcastle and Brittas . . . This is proof that if people unite and work solidly together, change for the better is possible.
“Today is a victory for people power in the planning process,” Ms Fitzgerald concluded.
The decision was also welcomed by Labour TDs Joanna Tuffy of Dublin Mid West and Emmet Stagg of Kildare North.
“Having made a submission to An Bord Pleanála and attended oral hearing where I spoke out against the proposals, I am delighted with today’s decision to refuse permission to the proposed incinerator at Rathcoole,” said Ms Tuffy.
Mr Stagg said the decision represented “a victory for people power. I would like to congratulate the various groups and people in Kill who mounted a strong campaign against this proposed incinerator, and would like to praise in particular the campaign organised by Carole Collins from The Stables in Kill.
“The proposal is now dead in the water and the residents of Kill, Johnstown, Eadestown, Rathmore and Kilteel should celebrate their victory,” he added.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Proposed Rathcoole incinerator slammed as 'dangerous' to health and environment
An incinerator proposed for Rathcoole in Co Dublin would pose a serious risk to the health of locals and to the environment, according to an Irish scientist.
Joe McCarthy, a physicist and qualified engineer from Sandymount in Dublin, says the new plant mooted for Rathcoole would be larger than the controversial Ringsend incinerator.
The company behind the proposed plant, Energy Answers International (EAI), have based its design on a similar facility in the US which went on fire after an explosion last year.
EAI lodged an application for planning permission for the €200m thermal waste treatment plant at Behan's Quarry in Rathcoole near the N7 with An Bord Pleanála in May. EAI says the plant is the first of its kind in Ireland and will thermally treat 365,000 tonnes of non-hazardous municipal solid waste yearly.
Joe McCarthy, who has also campaigned against the Ringsend proposal, pointed out the Rathcoole incinerator would have the capacity to burn up to 730,000 tonnes of waste a year because EAI will build two incineration processing lines, each with a 365,000-tonne capability. EAI's environmental impact statement says they will only use one of the units at any one time. "I have no doubt in my mind that they will use both processing lines. They give no commercial reason why they have a fully redundant design," McCarthy said.
On 31 March 2007, an incinerator originally designed and built by EAI in Rochester, Massachusetts, caught fire after an explosion at the plant. The blaze took over 24 hours to extinguish. McCarthy said since the plant in Rochester opened in 1989 it has "consistently" exceeded acceptable EU levels for the emission of pollutants. "The incinerator will produce an enormous amount of particulate matter. This is tiny dust including dioxins and other harmful material but the particulate matter is more dangerous [to human health] than dioxins."
He also says the main chimney from the incinerator is not high enough to effectively disperse pollutants and could be a health hazard for some nearby residents.
EAI saya the plant would operate within the standards set down by the Environmental Protection Agency and the EU. "We have never exceeded the US levels acceptable for dioxins. Our history has been that we have met EU levels," he said. "We will absolutely meet EU standards and there won't be any violations of the standards here.
"I haven't seen any evidence... of any human health impact or deaths due to the combustion of waste." McCarthy added that the company had submitted a sophisticated model for the main chimneystack to the EPA, which takes into account "the topography of the land and the amount of material coming out of the stack".
The final decision by An Bord Pleanála on the facility is expected by the end of the year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Joe McCarthy, a physicist and qualified engineer from Sandymount in Dublin, says the new plant mooted for Rathcoole would be larger than the controversial Ringsend incinerator.
The company behind the proposed plant, Energy Answers International (EAI), have based its design on a similar facility in the US which went on fire after an explosion last year.
EAI lodged an application for planning permission for the €200m thermal waste treatment plant at Behan's Quarry in Rathcoole near the N7 with An Bord Pleanála in May. EAI says the plant is the first of its kind in Ireland and will thermally treat 365,000 tonnes of non-hazardous municipal solid waste yearly.
Joe McCarthy, who has also campaigned against the Ringsend proposal, pointed out the Rathcoole incinerator would have the capacity to burn up to 730,000 tonnes of waste a year because EAI will build two incineration processing lines, each with a 365,000-tonne capability. EAI's environmental impact statement says they will only use one of the units at any one time. "I have no doubt in my mind that they will use both processing lines. They give no commercial reason why they have a fully redundant design," McCarthy said.
On 31 March 2007, an incinerator originally designed and built by EAI in Rochester, Massachusetts, caught fire after an explosion at the plant. The blaze took over 24 hours to extinguish. McCarthy said since the plant in Rochester opened in 1989 it has "consistently" exceeded acceptable EU levels for the emission of pollutants. "The incinerator will produce an enormous amount of particulate matter. This is tiny dust including dioxins and other harmful material but the particulate matter is more dangerous [to human health] than dioxins."
He also says the main chimney from the incinerator is not high enough to effectively disperse pollutants and could be a health hazard for some nearby residents.
EAI saya the plant would operate within the standards set down by the Environmental Protection Agency and the EU. "We have never exceeded the US levels acceptable for dioxins. Our history has been that we have met EU levels," he said. "We will absolutely meet EU standards and there won't be any violations of the standards here.
"I haven't seen any evidence... of any human health impact or deaths due to the combustion of waste." McCarthy added that the company had submitted a sophisticated model for the main chimneystack to the EPA, which takes into account "the topography of the land and the amount of material coming out of the stack".
The final decision by An Bord Pleanála on the facility is expected by the end of the year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Incinerator plan raises pollution and traffic fears
AN INCINERATOR which is proposed for the Rathcoole area of south Co Dublin has become the subject of significant protest and criticism among local residents.
An application was lodged with An Bord Pleanála last May by a US company, Energy Answers International.
It is seeking permission to construct the facility at a place known locally as Behan's Quarry, close to the main Naas Road/N7 motorway.
The planning application comes under the Strategic Infrastructure Bill 2006 which enables the fast-tracking of planning applications for projects deemed to be of a particular infrastructural significance, and as such bypasses any requirement to go through the local council's planning procedure.
The proposal has met with criticism from South Dublin County Council, and was strongly opposed at last week's council meeting, according to Cllr John Hannon (FF), who said there was a broad cross-party objection to the proposal.
Martin Judge from the council's planning department said they have undertaken a study of the likely effects of the incinerator, and the subsequent report unequivocally advised against any support for such a facility.
He said "the council has submitted objections to the planning application on the basis that the proposal does not comply with the Dublin regional waste management plan, and also because of concerns over the expected traffic problems which will be generated by the facility".
Local objections in Rathcoole are being led by a group called Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (Raid), which has held a series of public meetings in the area in the past few weeks.
Liam McDermott, secretary of Raid, said "our information is that the emissions likely to come out of this facility represent a danger to thousands of people in the surrounding area when the prevailing wind distributes them".
He said "the local environment for miles around will be polluted consistently for years".
"It should be considered that this area includes an equine industry worth in excess of €1 billion per year, as well as the Poulaphouca reservoir which in only six miles away from the site," he said.
Ted Walsh, one of the leading horse trainers in Ireland, has his business located within four miles of the proposed incinerator site, and has also objected strongly to the planning application.
He said an incinerator in that location, with the winds blowing in every direction, is likely to spread ash across the countryside and affect the quality of grazing for horses.
"Obviously, the effects on people is the most important thing, but Kildare is a great county for horses, with studs and farms that have produced Grand National and Gold Cup winners, and to have something like this built a few miles up the road would be a disaster."
Gerry O'Sullivan of Energy Answers International said the proposed facility was of huge importance and "would be capable of handling 365,000 tonnes of residual municipal waste per year, and would produce enough energy to power over 43,000 homes in the Dublin area".
He said Energy Answers International believed there was no basis to concerns over a significant increase in traffic in the area.
"The facility would be constructed within the quarry site, selected as the most appropriate location because it is close to existing waste-management infrastructure and transport routes," he said.
"It will have a dedicated exit from the N7, and as far as we are concerned there are no significant implications for local traffic in the area."
Mr O'Sullivan said "Energy Answers International has an open office on this matter, and is happy to discuss the matter and allay any concerns".
Tomorrow is the last day for objections to the planning permission application with An Bord Pleanála.
A final decision is expected towards the end of this year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An application was lodged with An Bord Pleanála last May by a US company, Energy Answers International.
It is seeking permission to construct the facility at a place known locally as Behan's Quarry, close to the main Naas Road/N7 motorway.
The planning application comes under the Strategic Infrastructure Bill 2006 which enables the fast-tracking of planning applications for projects deemed to be of a particular infrastructural significance, and as such bypasses any requirement to go through the local council's planning procedure.
The proposal has met with criticism from South Dublin County Council, and was strongly opposed at last week's council meeting, according to Cllr John Hannon (FF), who said there was a broad cross-party objection to the proposal.
Martin Judge from the council's planning department said they have undertaken a study of the likely effects of the incinerator, and the subsequent report unequivocally advised against any support for such a facility.
He said "the council has submitted objections to the planning application on the basis that the proposal does not comply with the Dublin regional waste management plan, and also because of concerns over the expected traffic problems which will be generated by the facility".
Local objections in Rathcoole are being led by a group called Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (Raid), which has held a series of public meetings in the area in the past few weeks.
Liam McDermott, secretary of Raid, said "our information is that the emissions likely to come out of this facility represent a danger to thousands of people in the surrounding area when the prevailing wind distributes them".
He said "the local environment for miles around will be polluted consistently for years".
"It should be considered that this area includes an equine industry worth in excess of €1 billion per year, as well as the Poulaphouca reservoir which in only six miles away from the site," he said.
Ted Walsh, one of the leading horse trainers in Ireland, has his business located within four miles of the proposed incinerator site, and has also objected strongly to the planning application.
He said an incinerator in that location, with the winds blowing in every direction, is likely to spread ash across the countryside and affect the quality of grazing for horses.
"Obviously, the effects on people is the most important thing, but Kildare is a great county for horses, with studs and farms that have produced Grand National and Gold Cup winners, and to have something like this built a few miles up the road would be a disaster."
Gerry O'Sullivan of Energy Answers International said the proposed facility was of huge importance and "would be capable of handling 365,000 tonnes of residual municipal waste per year, and would produce enough energy to power over 43,000 homes in the Dublin area".
He said Energy Answers International believed there was no basis to concerns over a significant increase in traffic in the area.
"The facility would be constructed within the quarry site, selected as the most appropriate location because it is close to existing waste-management infrastructure and transport routes," he said.
"It will have a dedicated exit from the N7, and as far as we are concerned there are no significant implications for local traffic in the area."
Mr O'Sullivan said "Energy Answers International has an open office on this matter, and is happy to discuss the matter and allay any concerns".
Tomorrow is the last day for objections to the planning permission application with An Bord Pleanála.
A final decision is expected towards the end of this year.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)