Galway County Council says it will await the outcome of its investigations before deciding on possible legal action over the Casla Bay pollution incident.
Up to 4,000 gallons of heating oil ran into an inlet in north Casla Bay over a period of over a month, but the contamination was only detected and reported to Galway County Council late last week. The clean-up, which began at the weekend, is expected to take three to four weeks.
Irish Coast Guard officials were not immediately notified and first heard of the pollution on radio broadcasts. The diesel content of the fuel appears to have evaporated, but heavy oil has marked a half-mile of shoreline up to the high tide mark.
The mixture of diesel and heavy oil emanated from a tank at an aeroboard factory on the Údarás na Gaeltachta industrial estate in Casla. A spokesman for Udarás na Gaeltachta said the factory had notified the council of the incident as soon as it became aware of it.
A protective boom was put in place and a dam built to confine the pollution to an inlet in the north end of the bay. The Costello and Fermoyle fishery is keeping in touch with the local authority and the contractor employed to carry out the clean-up, but there is no immediate danger to fish in the bay.
Mr Jim Larkin of the Progressive Democrats has criticised Údarás na Gaeltachta for the delay in detecting the pollution, and has called for an inquiry into the incident.
