Super dump gets go-ahead from EPA
The EPA’s decision follows a positive ruling by An Bord Pleanála last February which now paves the way for Cork County Council to go ahead with developing the controversial 115 acre site near the village of Bottlehill in the north of the county.
John O’Riordan, a spokesman for the Bottlehill Environmental Alliance, last night described the decision as “very disappointing”.
The alliance said it was a “huge blow to all concerned in the long running battle with Cork County Council”.
Green Party leader Trevor Sergeant said it was a “retrograde step”.
Asserting that the Government was not genuinely interested in minimising waste, he said: “This is an example of the dominant Government view that waste can be dealt with by burying or burning in an out-of-sight out-of-mind way. That means that politically weaker areas suffer from this approach. You would not get away with building a facility like this near the Phoenix Park.”
The agency made its decision following lengthy deliberations which started as far back as August 2001, and which now means that waste will start to be buried on the site before the end of next year.
Under the licence, the local authority will be able to dispose of up to 5.3 million tonnes of waste at the landfill, which is situated within forestry, over the next 20 years.
County manager Maurice Moloney welcomed the decision. “This will now enable us to proceed with the development and we look forward to working closely with the local community to ensure that their needs are met as far as possible,” he said.
The EPA has issued a number of conditions with the licence, including a stipulation that the county council set up a special liaison group with local people, which will discuss the development step by step.
The county council is to set up a major recycling centre for the city and county in the village of Carrigtwohill, which it plans to have up and running to coincide with the opening of the landfill at Bottlehill. Only residual waste will be buried at the landfill.
The EPA decision is a major weight off the shoulders of both the county council and city council.
The latter’s lack of suitable landfill space last year led it to announce that it might have to export its waste abroad if the green light wasn’t given to the Bottlehill project.
Earlier this month an application for a similar dump at another forestry site in North Cork was rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
Waste management company Greenstar had applied for a landfill facility at the site in Ballyguyroe site on the Cork-Limerick border.
The Environmental Protection Agency had granted Greenstar an operator’s licence for the site. The company said it was still hopeful of securing permission to operate the landfill.
