Shellfish farmers have expressed serious concern about Mayo County Council's decision to dispose of landfill leachate, a waste water byproduct, into protected waters in Clew Bay.
The Irish Shellfish Association (ISA) has written to Mayo county manager, Des Mahon, on the issue which, it believes, could constitute a food safety risk. The ISA says it was not consulted about the decision, and it believes State departments may not have been consulted either.
The council says it has obtained a temporary licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to dispose of a "small quantity" of leachate from its landfill at Derrinumera, near Newport, into the Westport sewerage system. The licence was obtained on December 7th, due to over-capacity at the sewage treatment plant in Castlebar, where the leachate is normally transferred.
The leachate is normally stored on site for a period before being transported by tanker to the sewage treatment plant. Due to recent heavy rainfall, facilities at Castlebar have been over-stretched, a spokesman said.
The council said that it was adding about two per cent to the current load being sent to the new sewage treatment plant in Westport, and the arrangement would last a maximum of two weeks, depending on weather.
ISA spokesman Richie Flynn said its members welcomed the fact that the new plant was operating in Westport, but were concerned about the council's failure to consult shellfish farmers when making the decision.
The ISA has already taken a successful European challenge over Ireland's failure to ensure there is adequate water quality for shellfish production, and Clew Bay is a designated area of marine conservation.
Mr Flynn said the council had worked in partnership with shellfish farmers in the past and said it was not as if the council was "not aware" of shellfish cultivation in the bay and its value. Niall O'Boyle of the Clew Bay Marine Forum said shellfish farmers had only become aware of the development on December 14th, after the leachate transfer had begun.