Environmental Protection Agency reimposes order on North Cork Creameries
The EPA said the 'ongoing and elevated risk of discharges that do not comply with licence conditions' threaten to cause an immediate adverse effect on the environment, particularly the ecological and chemical water quality of the River Allow.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reimposed an order on North Cork Co-Operative Creameries (NCC) directing it to stop discharging effluent from the site.
The state agency said the discharge will not be permitted to resume until it is satisfied that the licensee can reliably maintain steady-state compliance with licence requirements on an ongoing basis.
NCC was previously ordered to stop discharging wastewater to the River Allow in November 2025. On November 14, 2025, the EPA issued a Notice pursuant to Section 97B to the co-op, which operates under Licence P1051-01, directing it to suspend discharges from SW1. That Notice outlined the standards the company needed to achieve before the suspension could be lifted.
A spokesperson for the EPA said: "In January, NCC submitted information to show that they had maintained compliance for a set period, and the EPA lifted the suspension on January 7, 2026.
"Over the six weeks since the Notice was lifted, NCC have failed to maintain adequate control of the plant, leading to ongoing non-compliances with Emission Limit Values.
"Therefore, the EPA has determined that the licensee has not demonstrated the capacity to reliably maintain steady state compliance with licence requirements in relation to effluent at SW1."
Given what it described as the "persistent nature" of performance issues at the wastewater treatment plant, the EPA said there is once again an "ongoing and elevated risk of discharges that do not comply with licence conditions".
The EPA said such discharges threaten to cause an immediate adverse effect on the environment, particularly the ecological and chemical water quality of the River Allow.
NCC is understood to be making ongoing improvements to its wastewater treatment facilities. The co-op has also established a milk processing agreement with Carbery Group, intended to ease some of the pressure on processing operations in Kanturk as the year progresses.
