CONCERNS OVER WASTE TREATMENT PLANT RAISED IN THE DAIL
LOUTH TD RAISES LOCAL CONCERN IN DAIL DEBATE
LOUTH TD Peter Fitzpatrick raised concerns about the new ‘proposed treatment plant’ during a Dail debate this week.
Speaking as a local campaign opposing plans for a new hazardous waste treatment and storage plant at Warrenpoint port gathered momentum, Deputy Fitzpatrick said: ‘I have been contacted by many residents and businesses in the Omeath, Carlingford and Greenore areas who are greatly concerned at the potential impact of this facility. They have also raised concerns at the manner in which the application is being made and the lack of available information.
Newry based company Re- Gen have applied for a pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit for the plant to operate as a hazardous waste transfer station and bulking facility which will be used to bulk and store both hazardous and non-hazardous materials.
It is also proposed to include a chemical treatment plant which will be used for the physico-chemical treatment of waste and the storage of treated effluent waste.
‘ The treatment plant, which will be over 1,000 sq. m in size, is by no means a small development. It has been indicated that at any one time the treatment plant will store 200 tonnes of carcinogenic waste, one tonne of readily combustible solids and one tonne of spontaneously combustible solids,’ said Deputy Fitzpatrick. ‘ The treatment plant has also applied to store five tonnes of quarantined waste for periods of five days at a time.’
He added: ‘What worries me most about this proposal is that it appears that no proper assessment has been carried out. There was no impact assessment study in regard to the effects a toxic waste spillage or emission would have on the well being of the residents of the Carlingford Lough area.
The company behind the proposal indicated that it is very probable that an accidental spillage may occur as a result of the treatment of hazardous waste at the site. It should also be noted that the proposed location of this plant has been vulnerable to flooding in recent years.’
The Dundalk TD added that he was ‘amazed that this proposed plant has not received any scrutiny from elected representatives in the North.’
‘I represent the people of Louth and they are deeply concerned at this proposal. The proposed plant is within 120metres of residential areas in Omeath yet in the impact statement the proposers of the plant state that the nearest residential area is over 400 metres away. It is not good enough simply to ignore the residents and businesses on the southern side of the Lough. Millions of euro of taxpayers’ money has been invested in the area to boost the tourism sector. In recent weeks it was agreed to extend the Carlingford to Omeath greenway as far as Newry. It should be noted that the proposed treatment plant is within 120 metres of the greenway.
He called on the Minister for Environment, Denis Naughten to make representations on the issue, saying ‘Assurances are needed from the Northern authorities that they will engage with residents and businesses in the South in regard to this proposal rather than ignore them.’
Minister Naughten responded that as the proposed waste transfer station is to be situated in Northern Ireland it would, it would be subject to the regulatory controls of that jurisdiction’s national waste legislation. Decisions on planning applications for this proposed development would fall to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.’
He added: ‘ There are well-established structures in existence that provide a forum to deal with a variety of cross-Border issues, including issues of waste management. The North-South Ministerial Council meets in the environmental sector to make decisions on common policies and approaches in a cross-Border context in areas such as environmental protection, pollution, water quality management and waste management and is an effective forum to address waste management issues of mutual concern.
‘However, as the Deputy knows, that council is not currently constituted. It last met in November of 2016. I look forward to its being re-established in the not too distant future, hopefully within the coming weeks, at which stage it can be used to progress this issue.’