Dublin City Council and the State have asked the High Court to halt a challenge to €270 million works extending the capacity of the Ringsend waste water treatment plant.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton yesterday reserved judgment on the pre-trial application.
The Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association initiated the challenge last month due to environmental impact concerns. The project will include a 9km undersea tunnel to discharge treated effluent into Dublin Bay.
The residents want orders overturning An Bord Pleanála’s permission last November for the works. That was granted just weeks before the Minister for Arts and Heritage proposed on December 3rd to designate a 40km coastal stretch from Rockabill, Howth, to Dalkey Island as a special area of conservation.
In affidavits for the association, local resident Lorna Kelly claimed the undersea tunnel would discharge treated effluent into an area directly within, or adjacent to, a special area of conservation.
She also alleged an environmental impact statement was inadequate.
