An oral hearing into a licence application by a plant seeking permission to handle and store 32,000 tonnes of waste per annum, including potentially toxic materials such as asbestos and effluent from chemical plants, opened yesterday at Fermoy, Co Cork.
The hearing, under the aegis of the Environmental Protection Agency, is hearing submissions on whether the plant, already built, should be granted a licence to operate under the Waste Management Act 1966. The plant is sited near the hill of Corrin, outside Fermoy.
This is the second time within the past few weeks that a community near Fermoy has lobbied against the dumping or storage of waste materials in its locality. Nearby Watergrasshill was successful in its effort to force the local authorities in Cork city and county to chose another site, Bottlehill, to the north of the city, for the location of Cork's new superdump.
Under the licence now being sought by Safeway Warehousing Ltd, hazardous waste such as asbestos and effluent from chemical plants in the Munster area, mainly Cork, would be handled but not treated - in a process known as "blending" - at the plant before being shipped abroad for final disposal. The company proposes that the transfer of materials to the plant will take place in a covered environment to reduce environmental risks.
However, the Fermoy Environmental Action Group, Environmental Action Alliance Ireland and some 28 members of the local community are objecting to the plant on the grounds that its presence in a predominantly agricultural area would be highly unsuitable and damaging to agri-industry. The plant has already been issued with a draft licence by the EPA.
At the outset of the hearing yesterday, Mr John Hussey, the solicitor representing the objectors, told the inspector, Mr Gerard O'Leary, he did not expect the EPA to refuse the licence application, given previous indications that it would be granted. Nevertheless, he added, the local community wished to put its fears on record.
They were incredulous at the suggestion that such a plant would be located so far away from an industrial centre but so close to farming land.
Mr Eamon Galligan, representing the company, said SWL was a sister company of Southcoast Transport, which had a track record of more than two decades in handling hazardous waste materials.
The new facility, he added, included state-of-the-art handling systems and would be in compliance with the most rigorous requirements in terms of safety and environmental protection.
He asked the inspector to note that the directors of SWL owned farmland close to the storage facility. If granted, SWL would operate the licence according to all EPA conditions. The company wished to assure the local community that no threat to it or the environment would be posed by the plant. The hearing continues today.