EPA says Roadstone waste can be retained

The Environmental Protection Agency says a decision to allow Roadstone to retain some illegally dumped waste on its land at Blessington, Co Wicklow, is not in conflict with an earlier decision to clean up the entire site.

Under the terms of a licence granted this year, Roadstone was refused permission for an engineered landfill on the site, but instead was given permission to excavate "all historically deposited waste".

Wicklow County Council estimated that 50,000 tonnes of waste were dumped on the company's 243-hectare (600-acre) land holding close to the village of Blessington in the late 1990s. However, documents on the file kept by the EPA suggested that up to 300,000 tonnes of waste and contaminated soils may be involved at a number of townlands including Dillonsdown, Deerpark, Newpaddocks and Santryhill.

In its determination last February, the EPA said that removing the waste for proper disposal elsewhere was the best solution, in the light of the proximity of the Poulaphouca reservoir and local wells serving drinking water to Blessington village.

However, An Taisce spokesman and Blessington resident Frank Corcoran told The Irish Times he had discovered recent letters on the EPA file which allowed Roadstone to retain inert material on site, which he said was less than what was expected by locals when the EPA said all material must be excavated.

A spokeswoman for the EPA said the clause allowing Roadstone to retain inert waste on site was part of the licence granted to the company. She referred to a licence section entitled "Approved waste processes". It states: "The following waste related processes are authorised:

(i) Excavation of historically dumped waste and associated materials for processing in the on-site recovery/treatment plant;

(ii) Separation, crushing, sorting, shredding, screening, bailing, blending, repackaging processes;

(iii) Disposal/recovery off site of non-inert waste, and

(iv) use of inert waste in filling of excavation voids and associated landscaping works.

Minister for Environment Dick Roche, in whose constituency the dump lies, had welcomed the EPA decision that all waste should be excavated. Efforts to contact him yesterday were not successful.