Information in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed Poolbeg waste incinerator is to be published by Dublin City Council today on the orders of An Bord Pleanála.
The planning authority has ordered the council to make a report, entitled Dublin Waste to Energy Project Major Accident Hazard Assessment, available for public consultation.
The report, which was not submitted to the planning board with the council's original planning application for the incinerator, details the council's plans for dealing with an accident at the plant which could cause a major environmental disaster.
The assessment contains information on the effects on the environment and people, and the implications for future developments in the surrounding area.
The council made its application for the incinerator, which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste annually, to the planning board last July, but did not submit the major accident assessment until last September.
The version submitted at that time was deemed insufficient by the planning board and a new assessment was submitted in February to respond to both the concerns of the planning board and the Health and Safety Authority.
This version is available for public consultation from today until March 30th. The council expects that a large number of submissions will be made to the planning board in relation to the report.
Tánaiste and local representative Michael McDowell, who has lodged an appeal with the planning board against the incinerator, last month said the arrangement between the council and the developers of the incinerator, Elsam, had collapsed following the takeover of Elsam by Danish Oil and Natural Gas.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche supported Mr McDowell and said the deal between the council and the developers was likely to be abandoned.
The council has denied the Tánaiste's claims, saying the project was still going ahead and it was in negotiations with the company about new financing arrangements for the facility.
The incinerator is also the subject of a petition to the European Parliament. MEPs on the petitions committee agreed last month to determine whether the council had complied fully with EU law governing the original environmental impact assessment scheme.
They will also seek clarification on the site selection process.
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