The European Commission has been asked to halt plans for a superdump and recycling facility in north county Dublin, one of the key centres of Irish horticulture.
The plans were approved last week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), despite a vigorous campaign by growers, who fear their livelihoods will be threatened through contamination of groundwater. The area accounts for more than 50 per cent of Irish field vegetables.
Growers and local residents are taking their fight to Brussels, claiming the threat to groundwater supplies breaches EU directives.
One of those backing the petition is former horticulture minister Trevor Sargent, who represents the north county Dublin constituency in the Irish parliament. He said he was “horrified” by the EPA decision, which he felt could have very serious consequences for horticulture and for people’s quality of life. It was, he argued, in direct contradiction of European Commission policy and he insisted that the commission had an obligation to put things right.
The superdump, which is planned by Fingal County Council, will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, covering 140 acres. Under the council’s original proposal, it was to handle 500,000 tonnes of waste annually, but this has now been reduced to 350,000t.
The EPA has also attached 250 other conditions to the official licence, relating to the management, control and monitoring of the facility. These stipulate “strict controls” on all emissions, including odours, and require that leachate - the contaminated liquid that drains from landfills - be collected and treated to prevent contamination of soil and groundwater.
Nine homes and farms are expected to be compulsorily acquired by the council to make way for the facility, which will operate for some 30 years. But according to the EPA, even after it closes, strict monitoring will still be required, particularly in relation to groundwater.
Two planning inquiries have already been held on the controversial facility. At one, then minister Sargent testified publicly against the council’s proposal. However, his successor as Green Party leader, environment minister John Gormley, has ruled out any intervention over the EPA decision.
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