Sections of sawmill shut before major clean-up

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a Co Offaly sawmill to close key areas of the plant within one month, pending a major environmental clean up.

T&J Standish, based in the Aghancon Valley near Roscrea on the border with Tipperary, was successfully prosecuted by the EPA last year for discharging wood preservatives to ground water and the Fuarawn river.

Yesterday the EPA said it was granting a restricted licence to the company, effectively revoking permission for it to operate a section which pressure-drives wood preservative into timber fencing posts, until a new plant is built and measures are put in place to stop contaminants from reaching local watercourses.

The EPA also wants the company to dredge the Fuarawn river and consult regional fisheries boards and local users of the river before any work is carried out.

The EPA has also decided to base an inspector at the plant to oversee the work. The agency said contamination must be resolved and the site restored to suitable condition before full operational activities recommence at the facility.

The decision effectively means that while the sawmilling end of the operation may continue, T&J Standish, which has claimed to be the State's largest producer of fence poles, may not treat their products with preservative until the EPA is satisfied both with the clean-up and new measures which must be put in place to ensure no further pollution.

A spokesman for the agency told The Irish Times yesterday that the remedial work would involve new roofed premises and hard-standing to prevent rainwater reaching the treated fence poles. It would also involve suitable drainage measures to collect the run-off from the poles for treatment.

Silt from the dredging works will also have to be treated off-site.

In a statement yesterday, the EPA added that the company could operate on-site once remedial work was carried out to its satisfaction.

The statement said: "T&J Standish (Roscrea) Limited has been the subject of a number of environmental complaints.

"Having assessed the licence application and all information available, the board of EPA is satisfied that adherence to the licence conditions will ensure that the sawmill can be operated on site without causing environmental pollution."

"The EPA's office of environmental enforcement will vigorously enforce this licence to ensure that health and the environment are protected in this locality."

Last month the Oireachtas committee on the environment asked the Minister, Dick Roche, to appoint an inspector to investigate the sawmills, after it was alleged that cattle had died from carcinogenic poisoning.

Attempts to contact the company for a spokesperson or to speak to Tom Standish yesterday were unsuccessful.