Bord na Mona has denied that it must bear sole responsibility for polluting the river Figile, a major tributary of the Barrow, and says it cannot pay compensation to 150 farmers on whose lands material dredged from the river has been dumped.
Yesterday, the Irish Farmers' Association published a report it had commissioned showing that the board's activities on the Allen group of bogs were the major cause of silting in the Figile, which runs between Co Kildare and Co Offaly.
The report was launched in Clonbullogue, near where the new peat-burning plant, which will take one million tonnes of peat annually to operate, is currently under construction.
It claimed that excessive discharges into the river from bog workings, especially milling peat, was the main reason for increased dredging by the Barrow Drainage Board which has resulted in dumping of peat silt and debris on the river bank and on to farmland.
One of the farmers involved, Mr Eddie O'Connell, from Clonbullogue, said 30 years ago silt from the river was used by farmers to level their land and there was very little dredging and no compensation.
However, in recent years, as Bord na Mona's activities had increased, so had the pollution and as a result, the river had to be drained more often. For every 10 metres of dumping along the bank, farmers were losing one acre of land.
He said farmers wanted no more pollution of the river by peat but they should be compensated for the loss of productive land because of the board's activities, which will increase 100 fold with the opening of the new power station.
The IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, estimated that thousands of acres had been affected. As the banks were made up of 30 per cent organic peat, productive land was being taken out of agricultural use.
In addition, he said, the indiscriminate dumping of the material left lands in an unmanageable condition with weed growth, which infests adjacent farmlands.
Mr Jim Devlin, secretary of the IFA's industrial committee, said he would accept that farming activities had caused pollution and there were problems but these were being addressed.
"However, there is no intensive farming activity along the banks of this river and farming is not responsible. We want the same standards applied all round and that is why we are submitting this report to the Environment Protection Agency."
Mr Sean Grogan, chief executive of Bord na Mona Energy Ltd, rejected any suggestion that it was responsible for polluting the river and it could not pay compensation to farmers.
He said other activities by private peat operations and farming also had to bear responsibility. The board could not pay compensation for damage to land, as this was the statutory responsibility of the River Barrow Drainage Board, to which the board paid grants.
He said peat milling activities on the adjoining bog had started only in the last 18 months and last year, because of the weather, only 30 per cent production had been achieved.
"There will be no increased peat run-off because of our activities because silt ponds into which water will run will be installed on every sector of the workings.
"I detect that this is the main thing worrying local farmers and I can assure them there will be no pollution of the river," he said.
He accused the IFA of failing to respond to an offer made by the board last September to spread the drainage material wherever farmers wanted it to go.
But last night, the farmers' group said this offer applied to Bord na Mona's non-peak period, usually when the weather is wet and material cannot be spread.
However, Mr Grogan offered last night to meet the IFA president to draw up a programme to deal with specific problems which might be identified. This offer was accepted by Mr Parlon.