EPA refuses application for landfill at illegal dump

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has refused an application by a waste company to build a landfill facility on the site of the largest illegal dump ever uncovered in Ireland.

The (EPA) confirmed its decision to refuse Brownfield Restoration Ireland Limited a licence to construct a landfill at Whitestown Lower near Baltinglass, where 250,000 tonnes of rubbish were discovered in 2001.

It has been estimated it could cost up to €10 million to make the 20-acre site safe. One man has been jailed for six months, and another has been fined €150,000 by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for their roles in the dumping.

Brownfield Restoration Ireland had sought permission for a landfill facility for mixed waste and for the remediation of the site. It was granted a restricted licence solely for remediation.

"Restriction of the waste licence to the processing of the historical waste on-site and the removal of any non-inert material from the site, allows the applicant to remediate the illegal landfill and make safe the landform of this area of the site," the EPA said in a statement.

It also imposed conditions to ensure dust, gas and contaminated water emissions are safely managed during the restoration programme.

The EPA said the reasons for the decision not to allow the construction of a landfill included the presence of illegal waste and the closeness to the Carrigower River and nearby homes.

"The EPA is satisfied that there will be no residual environmental issues of any significance associated with the site or its environs as a result of the historical illegal waste activities on completion of the work," an EPA spokesman said.

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche said he was "particularly" pleased by the EPA's insistence that the stringent terms of its original draft decision, published last April, remained in place.

"The current owners of the site will have to carry out a full remediation and all of the potentially polluting wastes will have to be excavated, processed and removed to authorised facilities elsewhere," he said.

"This is in keeping with the policy direction which I issued in early May 2005 on the general issue of dealing with illegal waste activities."

Mr Roche said the EPA's decision sent out a "clear message" to all landowners that they risk prosecution if they allow their land to be used for unauthorised or illegal dumping.

"If you allow your land to be used for illegal dumping, you will be caught and you will face court action with the prospect of very heavy fines and or prison," Mr Roche said. "On top of that you will face hefty costs for cleaning up the mess and restoring the land."

Fine Gael TD for Wicklow Billy Timmins also welcomed the decision.