The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted a licence for a controversial dump at Knockharley, near Kentstown, in Co Meath, writes Tim O'Brien, Regional Development Correspondent.
The site for the proposed 60-acre dump lies about half way between Navan and Duleek. While the dump, proposed by Meath County Council, has a capacity of 180,000 tonnes of waste annually, making it potentially a regional dump, the EPA licence restricts the volume to 62,500 tonnes annually.
The site was identified by Meath County Council some years ago as the most suitable in the county and was also identified in the draft North East Waste Management Plan as a regional landfill.
A number of local groups have been campaigning against the project, and appeals against the granting of a licence were lodged by the Boyne Valley and Newgrange Protection League, among others.