EPA grants oral hearings on incinerators

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted oral hearings to objectors to the country’s first toxic waste incinerator in County Cork and the first proposed municipal waste incinerator in County Meath.

While no dates have yet been set, the EPA confirmed yesterday that it will hold oral hearings into the granting of a draft waste licence for the €93 million toxic waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy early in the New Year.

An oral hearing will also be held into the granting of a draft waste licence for the €80m municipal waste incinerator at Carranstown in County Meath to Indaver Ireland.

Opponents to the Ringaskiddy incinerator, Cork Harbour Area for a Safe Environment (CHASE), welcomed the announcement yesterday.

But they cautioned that this oral hearing will not be able to consider any health issues. “The EPA can only consider operational issues in this oral hearing so we are not under any illusions,” CHASE spokeswoman Linda Fitzpatrick said.

The objectors’ main reasons for seeking an oral hearing were that:

The draft waste licence allows a second incinerator to be built at Ringaskiddy without going back for planning permission.

The draft licence allows for 215,000 tonnes of waste to be processed at the plant while the planning permission was only obtained for 100,000 tonnes.

The flood levels given by the company were too low because subsequent flooding in the harbour showed that the waters rose beyond that level.

The objectors to the draft waste licence being granted to the €80m municipal waste incinerator at Carranstown in County Meath claimed that it was a health and safety risk and that a proper environmental impact assessment was not carried out.

Among the objectors to the municipal incinerator planned for the Meath/Louth border were former Taoiseach John Bruton and Senior Counsel John Rogers.

However, the company proposing to build both incinerators, Indaver Ireland, yesterday welcomed the granting of both oral hearings.

Indaver Ireland general manager John Ahern said these oral hearings will give an opportunity to have a full, proper and open debate on their choice of technology and the operation of both facilities.

“We are pleased that the planning and licensing process has not finished without the public being given the opportunity to discuss this important issue,” the Indaver general manager said.

Indaver believes both incinerators are of strategic and national importance, Mr Ahern added.