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CANDID ANSWERS ON SUPERDUMPS FROM BRIAN CROWLEY M.E.P.
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Written by Róisín O'Shea
Dungarvan Observer 30/6/00
Last Saturday Brian Crowley M.E.P. met with members of The Lickey Concern Group in Lawlor's Hotel, Dungarvan. The M.E.P. was refreshingly candid in his responses and it was evident that those attending the meeting were not used to such unequivocal answers from a politician. Michael Hogan of the Lickey Concern Group thanked Brian Crowley for attending and gave a short synopsis of the situation and why their group had formed to oppose the proposed County Superdump in Ring. "We are not a vigilante group, we are just concerned citizens", he said, continuing with the issues at stake for this Gaeltacht area. "There are Salmon and freshwater mussels in the Licky river, 17 houses are overlooking the
site, the water supply will ultimately be contaminated, so why are the County Council trying to steam-roll this dump in, we just feel victimised" said Michael Hogan. At the last Council meeting Mr. Hogan pointed out that two motions were put forward, one being to cease the search for a Superdump West of the County proposed by Cllrs Tobin, Cronin and Wilkinson, upheld by 12 votes to 10 and the second being a
motion by Cllr. Mary Greene that no decision be taken on the site until an E.I.S. was carried
out, defeated by 14 to 8. Mr. Hogan maintained that it would appear that the County Manager was going to ignore the motion that the search West of the county ceased, and he also understood that the Manager intended to have an E.I.S. completed by the end of the year. He concluded by saying that it did not seem fair that a community like Ring should take all the waste from the county, and perhaps beyond, when recycling in the county hadn't been addressed properly, "some glass collection bins dotted around the county is a token gesture and not true recycling". Brian Crowley asked for any further comments or questions, and then he addressed the issues raised.
WASTE A HUGE PROBLEM
Brian Crowley began by saying that waste is a huge problem in Ireland, "in my constituency in Munster in every area this is a problem". Although experts are being brought in by local authorities to 'prove'
that these new superdumps will be better constructed and managed than before, the single biggest problem is the lack of trust between communities and local County Councils. Local authorities are wary of
giving out full information, and anything that local communities learn has to be dragged out of those authorities. In the 1997 National Waste management plan Landfill will not be the first option, but in the
M.E.P.'s opinion this philosophy will probably not be implemented until ten years down the road. Incineration is currently seen as one of the solutions in Ireland, the thinking by Local authorities being that it would reduce the volume of waste going into landfill, but this is still looking at the quickest and cheapest solution and not necessarily the best solution for dealing with waste, he said. He also said that he was
not pro or against incineration, he had yet to make up his mind.
PROXIMITY PRINCIPLE
On the issue of the so-called 'proximity principle' Mr. Crowley said that although this term was spoken about quite often in relation to transportation of waste, the interpretation varies from country to country within the EU. For example in France 80 km radius is considered ideal for transportation of waste, but that could be significantly different in Germany. He spoke about a situation three years ago where a company based in Clare castle were exporting their waste out of Ireland, but were subsequently forced to build an incinerator to deal with their own waste on site. The company no longer had the option to ship waste under EU guidelines. In the case of the County Waterford Superdump logic may say that the dump should be closet to the main cause of the waste, but logic may not have any bearing in this situation said Mr. Crowley.
ETHNICITY ISSUE
Brian Crowley said on the issue of the 'special status of the Ring Gaeltacht area', that although there are programmes within the EU to protect and develop special areas like Ring, programmes that would prevent rural depopulation, assist with the growth of the community, and protecting heritage, there was nothing within that framework that could be used to stop a landfill in the area, to the best of his knowledge. EU policy and decision making was essentially made at the most effective level in relation to waste, roads, education etc., but the enforcement or implementation of same was determined at National or local level. It was evident from the response of those attending the meeting that this was not what they wanted to hear, there was a general belief that EU guidelines were definitive and that local communities could have recourse to the 'higher authority' of the EU if their local authority appeared to be disregarding policy. Mr. Crowley did go on to say that there was certainly a persuasive argument that spending millions of EU money on improving infrastructure and then putting a dump in the middle of that did not make sense, but there was no binding legislation that can address the issue.
E.I.S.
There is an EU directive as to how an E.I.S. (Environmental impact statement) is to be carried out, it details the criteria that must be met and local consultation is crucial to that process. There are
exacting standards to be met, and Mr. Crowley said that although it may be possible for an E.I.S. for a landfill to be carried out in five or six months, he had never seen one done in such a short period.
RECYCLING-REUSE
The argument traditionally had been that it was not economically viable to recycle, but there is a growing argument in favour of recycling and re-using where possible. Mr Crowley spoke about a company in Cork,
Glasarís who have developed a container system for biodegradable waste, and who have recently spoken with Waterford County Council. Each box is sealed with an air filtration and water pipe, so no leachate, after three or four weeks organic home waste becomes compost and is suitable for horticultural use. Vermiculture, the use of worms as a means to biodegrade organic matter is even quicker, but until other methods are found landfill will still be needed for hazardous waste said Mr. Crowley. He spoke about Germany where every household has 3 boxes for waste, glass, plastic and paper which are taken away by the local authority, and each home also has a biomassing unit for degradable home waste, or has access to one. Incineration at very high temperatures is purported to remove most dioxin emissions, but toxic fly ash from the chimney and ash from the grate still must be landfilled. " It must come back to information education, starting in the schools, for recycling to become a reality", said Mr. Crowley. Certain local authorities in Ireland are now trying to separate at source, Clare and Limerick being two counties addressing the issue. Mr. Crowley said that the 'polluter pays principle' will be enforced, that the EU union is putting pressure on for the recovery of charges, costs will ultimately be passed on to those who cause waste. Since the majority of waste that goes into landfill is actually created by industry it is there that the most charges will be levied. Industry will find ways to recycle their products as it will become too costly for them to pay disposal charges.
HOW TO LOBBY
On the issue of how local communities can best put their case or 'lobby' the EU, Brian Crowley said that the Community group in question must be seen to be apolitical, stressing that the issue is about people and not local politics. The lobbying must begin with the local representatives who are the Councillors, who have the power to not only over-turn the County Manager's decisions but can also dictate policy to the County Manager. The successful result of the 'cease the search west of the county' motion showed that local Councillors had done their job, even if the County Manager had a difference of opinion as to whether the motion was valid or not said Mr. Crowley. He went on to say that the Local Authority should be the natural engine for consultation and local partnership, whether the subject is sports facilities or landfills. The community voice is very important, but confrontation is not the way to get anything done, if your argument is not strong and valid enough, then it will be seen as flawed.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Responding to Margaret Power's question about the Freedom of Information Act, the M.E.P. said that any citizen can request any information or correspondence on any subject whatsoever that has been issued or received by the local authority. The request needs to be reasonably specific, and clear reason must be given as to why the information is refused. If this is not done then an appeal can be made to Kevin Murphy, the Freedom of Information Commissioner in Dublin. "Trust is probably the biggest issue, people don't have trust in local authorities for valid reasons over things that have happened in the past, it would be helpful if local authorities owned up to it when things go wrong and strive to make changes" said Mr. Crowley. There is also a bureaucracy in local government which is a big problem for local community groups. The M.E.P. said that local authorities needed to understand that the more information they give out to people the less fear and distrust there will ultimately be.
2 SMALL DUMPS FOR COUNTY?
Mr. Crowley said that under the National policy for waste management two small county dumps would not be allowed, the National policy is to reduce landfills not increase the number. When questioned about whether it was a government decision to select three Coillte sites for landfill in both Waterford and Cork, Mr. Crowley said that policy was decided at national level, decisions and implementation were done at local level by the Local Authority. Frank Lynch asked how could small counties be expected to fund landfills as there wouldn't be enough waste to cover the costs, and that counties should come together for composting projects to make recycling and composting more viable. The M.E.P. said that the costs for constructing landfills were allocated by the EU in direct ratio to the volume of waste produced. Lisa Mc Ahernie said that re-use in whatever form should be the main focus now and not in ten years time. Murial Ní Aodha said that Fiachra O'Ceilleachair had been asking the County Council for years to separate waste at source and he never got an answer on it.
METHANE GAS
Lisa Mc Ahernie also said that there was great concern about the methane gas that is produced in landfill and was it realistic for the County Council to propose using that gas for energy, surely the costs would be
prohibitive. Mr. Crowley replied that there were EU grants available to convert gas into energy so the local authority would have access to funding outside their yearly estimates. He suggested that the group log
onto two sites on the internet which answered many of the questions being posed about EU policies and funding; www.europa.eu.int and www.irlgov.ie.
MAD PANIC TO GET LANDFILL IN?
Brian Crowley said that probably in another four years that Superdumps and landfills will not be permitted within EU countries and that is why local authorities were rushing to get their selected landfill sites
approved by the E.P.A now, this was an issue for every country in Europe, every local authority was trying to find an immediate solution to waste. He said that 20 years ago no-one could have predicted the
volumes of waste that are now produced and all projections and plans have been thrown into disarray. Growth patterns have just been vastly ahead of all predictions. The decision to seek superdumps was based on policies made four years ago, in another four years new policies will come on stream.
PUT YOUR FAITH IN YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLOR
Brian Crowley responded that we all have vested interests one way or another and that he sincerely believed that no-one becomes a County Councillor unless they genuinely can make a difference, that they can make things better for people.
NATIONAL ZERO WASTE MOVEMENT
The difficulty with National community pressure or interest groups is that they are comprised of diverse parts. Zero waste Ireland probably has groups who are fragmented in their individual outlooks, the M.E.P.
went on to say that he meets with groups like this every day of the week and it is very difficult for consensus to be reached. Issues like the fog in Ring, threat to water, rare fish etc will be addressed through the E.I.S. The E.P.A. do take their job seriously and will not grant the County Council a license if the environment is at risk said Brian Crowley. Whether or not the Council try and put hazardous waste into a superdump after the fact is possible, there is nothing to stop them trying to do it, but they are unlikely to be allowed he said. He continued by saying that five years down the road that hazardous material would probably be dealt with in a different way, but it was important to bear in mind that any new Superdump would be exempt from new regulations once it is approved and in place, the only
likely restrictions plac ed on local authority dumps is that remedial work is carried out in the future. The M.E.P. concluded by saying that he would make himself available to meet with the group again or local
County Councillors, that all avenues must be exhausted at local level before there could be any recourse to the Eu Commissioner Margaret Waldstrum. The difficulty with legal action for community groups through EU courts is that there is no free legal aid or financial assistance to fight a case, whereas local authorities use tax payer's money to foot their legal bill. While the County Manager may maintain that he has a legal obligation to find a modern landfill, Margaret Power of the Lickey Concern Group said that they had an equal obligation to protect the health and livelihoods of their community. " We will fight this
superdump proposal locally, Nationally and go to court if necessary" said Margaret Power. On Thursday night there is a joint fund-raising night between the Lickey Concern group and The Bride & Blackwater
Alliance. The venue is the Hilltop Hotel in Youghal, admission is £5, and music is by Gina and the Champions. All inquiries to; 058-42069. This is one Community Group that seems determined to take on the Local Authority, actively fund-raising and organising into an efficient lobbying group with a professional website promoting their position, lickeyconcern.com and while Brian Crowley may say that it is ultimately not worth losing your health over, members of the Lickey Concern group seem prepared to do exactly that to take on Goliath.