Record €1m fine for contractor who engaged in illegal dumping

A RECORD €1m fine has been handed down by the Circuit Court to a waste contractor who engaged in illegal dumping over a four-year period in west Wicklow.

John Healy, operator of Blessington Plant Hire and Blue Bins Ltd, collected waste from other operators in the area, before dumping it illegally on land at Dillonsdown, close to the Blessington lakes reservoir.

Roadstone, part of Cement Roadstone Holdings, which owns the land, has already spent an estimated €20 million digging up 180,000 tonnes of waste, separating contaminants and sending about 90,000 tonnes to licensed landfills. Last night, Roadstone, which has consistently stated it had no knowledge of the illegal dumping, said it had engaged in "extensive consultation with all relevant statutory bodies" to address concerns about remedying the site.

The illegal dump came to light in 2002, when Wicklow County Council sent investigators to the Dillonsdown lands. As it became apparent that earth-moving machinery had been used at the dump, the council hired an aeroplane and thermal-imaging equipment to locate the waste.

Subsequent tests revealed groundwater under the dump had been contaminated, but the council said the contaminants had not been detected in the adjacent reservoir, possibly because the waste was discovered in time. Evidence recovered by the council and the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions who prosecuted the case.

Under the Waste Management Act, offenders can get fines of up to €15 million and up to 10 years' imprisonment, applicable to landowners and waste contractors.

Mr Healy, of Crosscool Harbour, Blessington, has insisted he was responsible for only a small portion of waste dumped at Dillonsdown.

In a statement, Roadstone said it had addressed all public concerns on issues that were not of its making.

A company spokeswoman could not say what the cost of the 22-month clean-up operation was. But sources indicated that at "gate prices", the cost of sending an estimated 90,000 tonnes of waste to a licensed landfill, would be €10 million. Roadstone also bore the council's costs of €500,000, the cost of unearthing and segregating the waste, the licence application costs and consultants' costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the completion of the clean-up operation had "removed any potential risk of contamination of local water supplies".

An agency spokeswoman added that all work was supervised by an agency-appointed technical expert, "to ensure there were no residual environmental issues of any significance associated with the site as a result of the historical illegal waste activities".

The council yesterday expressed satisfaction with the fine, saying it would send a signal to other operators that such crimes do not pay.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley said the case showed the courts were ready to use the full rigours of the law when cases were taken on indictment.

He urged local authorities to adopt a stringent and consistent approach to enforcement and said he would issue guidelines on these issues over the coming months.