Wicklow quarry plan a risk to water - council

A Roadstone proposal to quarry sand and gravel at Blessington, Co Wicklow, poses a risk to half the public water supply in Dublin, Dublin City Council has warned Bord Pleanála.

The warning, which relates to water quality in Poulaphouca lake, was made in a written objection to Bord Pleanála on August 11th, after Wicklow County Council granted planning permission to Roadstone for a quarry on a 30-acre site at Deerpark, Blessington.

Dublin council also told the board that no planning permission should have been granted to Roadstone until the issue of four illegal dumps on Roadstone's 600-acre site adjacent to the lake had been resolved.

News of Dublin council's concerns came at a special meeting of Wicklow County Council yesterday, called to discuss Roadstone's application to the Environmental Protection Agency for a licensed landfill on its land.

Roadstone has consistently said the waste, which may amount to about 150,000 tonnes, was placed on its land without its knowledge or permission.

The company said it was seeking the waste licence only to remediate the illegal dumps, creating an engineered landfill.

It does not need planning permission for the landfill as it is responding to a Section 55 enforcement notice from the council compelling it to carry out the clean-up.

However, the arrangement - worked out between council officials and Roadstone - has infuriated some councillors who yesterday called on Minister for the Environment Dick Roche to appoint an inspector to oversee the handling of the affair by council management.

Councillors expressed surprise when Dublin City Council's concerns about Poulaphouca were read out by Independent councillor for west Wicklow Tommy Cullen.

The identification of the dumps at Dillonsdown, Deerpark, New Paddocks and Santryhill townlands was a surprise to some councillors who previously believed there was just one dump at Dillonsdown.

Producing newspaper cuttings from local papers dating back to 1996 Mr Cullen said the council knew of illegal dumping on Roadstone lands for at least a decade. He said it was incredible that the council had not yet quantified the amount of illegally dumped material.

Mr Cullen also said that in imposing a Section 55 notice on Roadstone the council was giving the company a way out of applying for planning permission "and there is nothing that anyone could have done if the EPA had not decided [ provisionally] against granting a licence to Roadstone.

"Now we have the country's largest local authority saying a threat is posed to 50 per cent of its drinking water."

Mr Cullen was supported by Cllr Deirdre de Burca who asked if the Section 55 notice served on Roadstone could be rescinded, forcing it to go through the planning process.

Bryan Doyle acting Wicklow county manager said, however, there would be no alteration to the Section 55 notice. He said Dublin City Council's concerns represented "just one of a number of reports" on the planning files which he said "should be read in their entirety".

Mr Doyle confirmed that the disagreement was not the first time Dublin council had expressed concern about development in Blessington and around the lake. Councillors agreed to a motion calling for the appointment of a ministerial inspector at their September meeting.