Residents living next to a proposed €60 million windfarm in south Galway have expressed concern about work at the site after a second landslide in 10 days blocked off a public road yesterday.
The residents have expressed concerns that the movement of soil from the site in the Slieve Aughty Mountains has contaminated a nearby stream, which goes into Lough Cutra, with serious implications for fish stocks and the quality of drinking water in the town of Gort, 10 miles away.
Work was suspended on the 71-turbine farm on Thursday last week but, following a small amount of rainfall on Wednesday evening, Derrybrien residents awoke yesterday to discover that the peat and soil had encroached on to the public "Black Road" which links Derrybrien with Loughrea.
The Saorgus Energy site, which was purchased from Coillte, was leased to Hibernian Wind Energy. A spokesman for the company assured residents that no work had taken place since the first landslide on October 16th and work has already been suspended for next week. Over 60 contractors on the site had to be evacuated 11 days ago.
Galway County Council workers tried to stabilise the area by building two dams next to the public roadway, but those barriers were breached by the second landslide yesterday. The situation is being monitored by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board.
"The landslide broke through a second barrier this morning and flowed downstream," said Mr Martin Collins of the Derrybrien Concerned Residents' Association.
"The "Black Road" was closed off for the past week anyway, adding five miles to our journey to Loughrea.
"The soil is actually free-flowing down a river. We believe there should be a complete inquiry into the whole development and the planning that went into it."
Mr Collins said local residents claimed to have heard machines moving on the site over the past few days. Residents now agree there should be a halt to work on the site.
A spokesman for Hibernian Wind Energy, Mr Michael Kelly, said investigations were continuing into the original landslide 11 days ago.
He said investigators who had examined the recent landslide at Pollathomas, Co Mayo, had carried out tests at the Co Galway site.
"We are monitoring the situation and co-operating with the statutory bodies," he said. "I can assure the residents that no work has taken place on the site since October 16th."