Mayo County Council has begun legal proceedings against the owners of a sludge factory in north Mayo.
Last month, the authority wrote to the owners of the Glancré Teoranta plant in Geesala, on the Erris peninsula, demanding that all unauthorised operations at the plant immediately cease.
Mayo County Council's action was welcomed by local residents in the Erris Action group, which is opposed to the processing of sludge in the area.
Residents complain of a noxious odour that periodically emanates from the factory.
Operations at the plant are continuing, however, and remain a cause of concern to both locals and to Mayo County Council.
Mayo county secretary, Mr John Condon, said yesterday that the authority had now initiated legal action against the owners of the plant.
"We had hoped that the letter sent to the company on July 13th would result in it ceasing to carry out unauthorised operations at the Geesala site, but that has not happened. While we are continuing to monitor the situation at the Geesala site, we have sought a High Court order to insist that all unauthorised operations at the factory cease. We hope to get to court as quickly as possible to rectify this situation," Mr Condon said.
A spokesperson for the Erris Action Group, local resident Mr Lawrence Howard, says people are disappointed that the local authority did not seek a court injunction to ensure the immediate stoppage of unauthorised work at the plant.
"A court injunction would have been more effective in our opinion," he argued. "We have already received a clear High Court ruling agreeing with our position that operations at the plant are unauthorised, but nonetheless lorries continue to arrive at the plant and operations are continuing. The company has a planning application before Mayo County Council at present looking for permission to mix sludge with turf and to produce a fuel and a fertiliser.
"We do not want to see that happen. Geesala doesn't want to become the sludge capital of the country, and we will be objecting to that application," Mr Howard explained.
No one was available for comment yesterday at the company's headquarters in Cork.