Residents opposed to a new Fingal County Council landfill on a 500-acre site at Tooman Nevitt, just north of Swords, will object at an oral hearing today. They believe it will endanger a natural aquifer and private wells.
The hearing by Bord Pleanála gets under way this morning, and will also hear objections from Indaver Ireland which currently has planning permission for incinerators in counties Meath and Cork.
Its managing director, John Ahern, said: "To seek to develop the biggest landfill in the State at a time when no other European country is doing this to such a scale, and when we already have twice the capacity required, makes no sense whatsoever."
The company lodged an official objection with the appeals board on the grounds that "the development of further landfill capacity completely contravenes national policy and regional waste-management plans".
The council published an environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of its application, and elements of the statement are expected to be challenged during the oral hearing.
"In the EIS it is stated there are no wells of any significance in the area. This is not true, and there are some 300 private wells," said local resident Gemma Larkin.
She said the wells have an output of 35 million litres a day and "this is 10 times greater than the amount being taken from the same aquifer but at Bog of the Ring by Fingal County Council. This supplies Balbriggan with mains water."
Residents are also concerned there is a risk of contamination of the ground water supply to the local horticulture industry which, they say, "supplies 50 per cent of all fresh fruit and vegetables to the Irish market, some of which is processed on this land This industry is worth up to 600 million a year to the local economy."
The hearing is expected to last four days, and Bord Pleanála has indicated it will make a decision in the coming weeks.
Even if permission is granted the development will require a waste licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.