THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has reprimanded Ireland for not properly implementing EU rules on waste water in rural areas, which the European Commission said has caused “serious damage to the environment”.
In its judgment the EU court, which sits in Luxembourg, took the European Commission’s side, which said there were “serious shortcomings” in the way septic tanks and other private waste water treatment systems are installed and maintained throughout the countryside.
The European Court said that Ireland – with the exception of Co Cavan, which introduced water pollution bylaws in 2004 – had failed to properly implement a 1975 EU directive on waste. The Government has been ordered to pay its own costs and three-quarters of those incurred by the EU executive in the case.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said in reaction to the judgment, “We know that in far too many instances septic tanks or onsite sewage treatment systems are causing pollution. The absence of a licensing and inspection system is a major weakness in our overall environmental management structures and this needs to be addressed.” He said he was launching a public consultation to look into the issue.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on drinking water released this year found that the quality of private water supplies was inferior to those maintained by public authorities. It says that over 31 per cent of private group water schemes were contaminated with E. coli at least once during 2007 (184 out of 586).
However, Labour Party MEP Nessa Childers, the only Irish member of the European Parliament’s environment committee, described the court’s ruling as a “damning indictment” of the Government’s and Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s “green credentials”.
“The Greens should explain why a commitment in the new programme for government to introduce a scheme for the licensing and inspection of septic tanks and waste water treatment systems has been tarted-up and cynically presented as a new policy departure,” she said.
Gerard O’Leary of the EPA’s environmental enforcement office said proper treatment of waste water from septic tanks and other systems was a public health issue.
“If these systems are not designed and don’t dispose of the effluent properly, it’s lodged on your site, and . . . you can guarantee that E. coli is present.”
He said the EPA had been identifying concerns in drinking water reports for several years. More than 400,000 Irish homes had septic tanks in 2006, according to census data, due to the large number of scattered settlements in rural areas.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label waste water treatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waste water treatment. Show all posts
Friday, 30 October 2009
EU court raps Ireland over waste water treatment
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has reprimanded Ireland for not properly implementing EU rules on waste water in rural areas, which the European Commission said has caused “serious damage to the environment”.
In its judgment the EU court, which sits in Luxembourg, took the European Commission’s side, which said there were “serious shortcomings” in the way septic tanks and other private waste water treatment systems are installed and maintained throughout the countryside.
The European Court said that Ireland – with the exception of Co Cavan, which introduced water pollution bylaws in 2004 – had failed to properly implement a 1975 EU directive on waste. The Government has been ordered to pay its own costs and three-quarters of those incurred by the EU executive in the case.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said in reaction to the judgment, “We know that in far too many instances septic tanks or onsite sewage treatment systems are causing pollution. The absence of a licensing and inspection system is a major weakness in our overall environmental management structures and this needs to be addressed.” He said he was launching a public consultation to look into the issue.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on drinking water released this year found that the quality of private water supplies was inferior to those maintained by public authorities. It says that over 31 per cent of private group water schemes were contaminated with E. coli at least once during 2007 (184 out of 586).
However, Labour Party MEP Nessa Childers, the only Irish member of the European Parliament’s environment committee, described the court’s ruling as a “damning indictment” of the Government’s and Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s “green credentials”.
“The Greens should explain why a commitment in the new programme for government to introduce a scheme for the licensing and inspection of septic tanks and waste water treatment systems has been tarted-up and cynically presented as a new policy departure,” she said.
Gerard O’Leary of the EPA’s environmental enforcement office said proper treatment of waste water from septic tanks and other systems was a public health issue.
“If these systems are not designed and don’t dispose of the effluent properly, it’s lodged on your site, and . . . you can guarantee that E. coli is present.”
He said the EPA had been identifying concerns in drinking water reports for several years. More than 400,000 Irish homes had septic tanks in 2006, according to census data, due to the large number of scattered settlements in rural areas.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In its judgment the EU court, which sits in Luxembourg, took the European Commission’s side, which said there were “serious shortcomings” in the way septic tanks and other private waste water treatment systems are installed and maintained throughout the countryside.
The European Court said that Ireland – with the exception of Co Cavan, which introduced water pollution bylaws in 2004 – had failed to properly implement a 1975 EU directive on waste. The Government has been ordered to pay its own costs and three-quarters of those incurred by the EU executive in the case.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said in reaction to the judgment, “We know that in far too many instances septic tanks or onsite sewage treatment systems are causing pollution. The absence of a licensing and inspection system is a major weakness in our overall environmental management structures and this needs to be addressed.” He said he was launching a public consultation to look into the issue.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on drinking water released this year found that the quality of private water supplies was inferior to those maintained by public authorities. It says that over 31 per cent of private group water schemes were contaminated with E. coli at least once during 2007 (184 out of 586).
However, Labour Party MEP Nessa Childers, the only Irish member of the European Parliament’s environment committee, described the court’s ruling as a “damning indictment” of the Government’s and Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s “green credentials”.
“The Greens should explain why a commitment in the new programme for government to introduce a scheme for the licensing and inspection of septic tanks and waste water treatment systems has been tarted-up and cynically presented as a new policy departure,” she said.
Gerard O’Leary of the EPA’s environmental enforcement office said proper treatment of waste water from septic tanks and other systems was a public health issue.
“If these systems are not designed and don’t dispose of the effluent properly, it’s lodged on your site, and . . . you can guarantee that E. coli is present.”
He said the EPA had been identifying concerns in drinking water reports for several years. More than 400,000 Irish homes had septic tanks in 2006, according to census data, due to the large number of scattered settlements in rural areas.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Contract for waste water plant allowed odour levels 20 times those first agreed
THE CONTRACT to develop a waste water treatment plant at Ringsend, Dublin, allowed odour levels 20 times higher than those stipulated in the project's environmental impact statement (EIS), a report has found.
The independent report, by consultant Brendan Fehily, said the inclusion of the higher figure in the operations contract between Dublin City Council and construction and operations consortium ABA, "was either a serious error of judgment or a mistake".
Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who commissioned the report, said he noted a failure to adhere to EIS recommendations was a key element in the subsequent issues at the plant. "I would hope individuals or bodies can be held to account," he said.
Local Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton called on the Minister to ensure those responsible for the "fiasco" are held to account.
The Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant has been in operation since June 2003. It treats waste water from the entire Dublin region and has frequently operated above its capacity. Residents in Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown have complained of serious odour problems from the plant since its inception.
The report found that there were flaws in how the capacity for the Ringsend plant was calculated, with an underestimation of over 225,000 people, made up of tourists, commuters and commercial sector users.
The World Health Organisation gives 3.5 parts per billion (ppb) of hydrogen sulphide as the level at which no odour is detectable, the report said. And, though the EIS established an odour standard of 5 ppb at the site boundary, "inexplicably", the contract documents quoted a standard of 100 ppb at the site boundary.
Work to deal with the odour problem is being carried out at the plant and should be completed by the end of the month.
The report said the plant had a very positive effect on the water quality in Dublin Bay, but was unlikely to comply with the urban wastewater directive. The directive imposes stringent limits on discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous. It said measures needed to be put in place to de-nitrify the final effluent; phosphorus removal may also be required.
The report makes a series of recommendations, including an upgrading of the works and improvements in the monitoring and licensing of discharges from businesses in the Dublin area.
Mr Gormley said he particularly welcomed the nutrient removal recommendation. "This is something I called for as far back as 1993 during the early proposals for the facility," he said.
Ms Creighton said locals have endured the stench from the plant for years and that so far nobody has stood up and accepted responsibility for the plant's failure.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The independent report, by consultant Brendan Fehily, said the inclusion of the higher figure in the operations contract between Dublin City Council and construction and operations consortium ABA, "was either a serious error of judgment or a mistake".
Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who commissioned the report, said he noted a failure to adhere to EIS recommendations was a key element in the subsequent issues at the plant. "I would hope individuals or bodies can be held to account," he said.
Local Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton called on the Minister to ensure those responsible for the "fiasco" are held to account.
The Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant has been in operation since June 2003. It treats waste water from the entire Dublin region and has frequently operated above its capacity. Residents in Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown have complained of serious odour problems from the plant since its inception.
The report found that there were flaws in how the capacity for the Ringsend plant was calculated, with an underestimation of over 225,000 people, made up of tourists, commuters and commercial sector users.
The World Health Organisation gives 3.5 parts per billion (ppb) of hydrogen sulphide as the level at which no odour is detectable, the report said. And, though the EIS established an odour standard of 5 ppb at the site boundary, "inexplicably", the contract documents quoted a standard of 100 ppb at the site boundary.
Work to deal with the odour problem is being carried out at the plant and should be completed by the end of the month.
The report said the plant had a very positive effect on the water quality in Dublin Bay, but was unlikely to comply with the urban wastewater directive. The directive imposes stringent limits on discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous. It said measures needed to be put in place to de-nitrify the final effluent; phosphorus removal may also be required.
The report makes a series of recommendations, including an upgrading of the works and improvements in the monitoring and licensing of discharges from businesses in the Dublin area.
Mr Gormley said he particularly welcomed the nutrient removal recommendation. "This is something I called for as far back as 1993 during the early proposals for the facility," he said.
Ms Creighton said locals have endured the stench from the plant for years and that so far nobody has stood up and accepted responsibility for the plant's failure.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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