Shannon airport sewage plant ‘too little, too late’

THE granting of planning permission for a sewage treatment facility at Shannon Airport was too little, too late, a leading doctor has claimed.

Aer Rianta was finally given permission yesterday to build the plant, four years after it opened the €35 million terminal building at the airport.

Since 2000, the State agency has been pumping 100,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage into the Shannon estuary, a proposed Special Area of Conservation (pSAC), each year.

Secretary of the Clare Environmental Forum, Dr Anne Clune yesterday said the provision of the sewage treatment facilities has come too late.

“It is outrageous what Aer Rianta has done here over the years by pumping this material into the estuary and dumping other waste in the area,” she said.

During the planning process for the works, it also emerged in documents lodged by Aer Rianta that hazardous waste was being dumped until 1998 on an unlicensed landfill owned by the State body in the vicinity of the new plant. Aer Rianta later submitted a remedial and aftercare plan for the unlicensed landfill to the council.

Ms Clune said: “It appears Aer Rianta only moved to address the sewage situation when pushed to do so. It is not the responsible attitude you would expect from a major state body.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched an investigation into waste issues at Shannon airport after the failure by Aer Rianta to provide the sewage facilities. This followed a complaint by An Taisce to the Government.

The council yesterday granted permission for the proposal, stating the plan was a critical element of the long-term operation and management of the airport.

A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta said yesterday the company was pleased with the decision. She said tenders have been sought for the construction of the plant and it is envisaged the plant could be operational by the end of this year.

Shannon Regional Fisheries Board is taking a case against Aer Rianta next month.

However, yesterday’s decision will allow Aer Rianta’s legal representatives to show a district court judge there has been tangible progress in addressing the ongoing pollution of the estuary.

At a previous court appearance, solicitor for the airport operator told the court Aer Rianta would be pleading guilty to the summons being brought by the Regional Fisheries Board.