‘ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE’
Plans to expand mud waste pool raise the danger of destroying an area of conservation on Shannon, say objectors
AN alliance of environmental groups has claimed the expansion of a red mud pond has the potential to bring about ‘the largest environmental catastrophe ever in Ireland’.
Futureproof Clare, Ecojustice Ireland and Cappagh Farmers Group, among others, have won permission from the High Court to challenge An Bord Pleanála’s granting of permission to extend the Rusal Aughinish Alumina red mud waste disposal area.
Aughinish is a manufacturing site in Co. Limerick that employs around 500 people, and is involved in one of the stages in the international process of turning mined bauxite into alumina for aluminium products. In December 2021, smelter owner Rusal applied for planning permission to raise the maximum height of its bauxite residue disposal area (BRDA) – or ‘red mud’ lake – to 44 metres, and raise the salt cake (a hazardous material) level to a new maximum of 35 metres. The campaigners said this lake of unlined red sludge, made up of bauxite residue, is next to a Special Protected Area on the Shannon Estuary.
Emma Karran of Futureproof Clare said: ‘The dam containing red sludge at Aughinish is currently estimated to hold between 50 and 75million tonnes of bauxite waste. Many local people believe that human and animal health have already been affected by residues in the area, and toxic waste from the plant may be polluting the waters.’
Sinéad Sheehan, also of Futureproof Clare, claimed: ‘If the dam were to breach, we would see the largest environmental catastrophe ever in Ireland.
‘Our legal team have advised us that Rusal did not carry out sufficient environmental assessment to determine that the proposed expansion would be safe in the context of the environmental impact of already existing infrastructure. The last thing we want is a red mud spill in an area of conservation on the Shannon.’
Rusal also wants to expand its borrow pit to facilitate further blasting of rock on-site to provide material for expanding the BRDA. A borrow pit is a term used in construction for a hole, pit or excavation that has been dug for the purposes of removing gravel, clay and sand used in a construction project such as when building an overpass.
Declan Owens, chief executive of Ecojustice Ireland, said: ‘Aughinish Alumina’s red mud pond is an ecological abomination and a deep scar on the landscape.
‘The proposed expansion approved by Limerick Council and An Bord Pleanála has the potential to make matters worse for local health and the ecosystem of the Shannon Estuary. ‘The judicial review will hold Aughinish Alumina to account through legal arguments at the High Court and it will highlight important issues for consideration by the court of public opinion.’
The alliance claims An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission for the extension of the disposal area did not examine the connection with the existing Alumina production facility, and did not address the observed environmental impacts which were acknowledged in previous planning applications to the board and industrial emissions licence applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It said its legal advisers believed this was an error of law, as the board failed to take into account the overall environmental impacts of the Aughinish facility in deciding to permit further expansion of the red mud disposal area.
Rusal has said the rock blasting and expansion of the waste site is necessary to extend the lifetime of the production facility until 2039.
Futureproof Clare has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support its ongoing legal battle.
‘May be polluting the waters’ ‘An ecological abomination’