EPA ‘failed in duty on harbour site’

THE Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of failing in its duty to compel the Government to get a licence for the storage of hazardous waste at the former Irish Steel site at Haulbowline in Cork harbour.

FIE spokesman Tony Lowes said yesterday that the EPA had the power to force the Government’s hand on the future of the site but had failed to do so.

The FIE is now to take legal action itself over the continued holding of waste without a licence at the site. The FIE is seeking an urgent high court injunction to compel Environment Minister John Gormley to either apply for a licence for the site or remove the waste.