Wexford residents oppose `superdump'

Opposition is mounting in Wexford to the siting of a new "super-dump" in one of three locations under consideration.

Consultants have identified two sites near Killurin, outside Wexford town, and a third in the north of the county as potential landfills to replace the existing dump, which is also near Killurin and has a lifespan of two to three more years.

Public meetings in the two areas affected have each attracted more than 400 people since the locations were made known by Wexford County Council, and action groups have been formed.

One of these, the Camolin Area Environmental Association, says it may take legal action against the council unless a site at Newbridge Wood, outside Camolin, is removed from the shortlist. The group's chairman, Mr Martin Ryan, said the site was in a high-amenity and high-density area and the local soil was of a type that raised the prospect of water being contaminated.

Opposition to the two sites near Killurin, at Holmestown and Cools, is led by the Barntown Environmental Alliance. Both sites and the existing county dump are in the parish of Glynn-Barntown. "The last three landfills have all been in our parish . . . we don't want another dump in our area," said a spokesman for the alliance, Mr Phil Howlin.

The 100-acre "central waste management facility", which is to include a composting yard, reception and storage facilities, as well as a 40-acre landfill, will cater for the county's waste for 20 years.

The three sites were selected by Cork-based consultants Fehily, Timoney and Co after a countywide investigation in which 29 locations were examined. Criteria such as proximity to main centres of population, access, distance from houses and visual impact were taken into account.

More intensive tests are now taking place at the shortlisted sites and a report is due before the end of the year. If one of the sites is deemed suitable, an environmental impact assessment would be carried out. Some 55,000 tonnes of waste is disposed of annually at the present dump in Killurin, but this figure will nearly double over the lifespan of the new facility, the consultants estimate.

Mr Michael Fitzgerald, an engineer living close to Newbridge Wood, said the Camolin group had considerable expertise. The local soil was highly permeable and was the opposite to that required for a safe landfill, he said. Mr Fitzgerald noted there was a growing population in the immediate vicinity and he anticipated major traffic problems, with lorries travelling to the dump.

Mr Howlin said the Barntown group also had environmental concerns. He questioned why the county needed one super-dump instead of smaller, local landfills that would encourage people to take responsibility for their waste.

Nobody from Wexford County Council was available for comment yesterday.