Meath Chronicle - 14-10-06
Appeals go in against incinerator permission

THE planning permission granted for an expanded incinerator at Carranstown, Duleek, has been appealed to an Bord Pleanala by both anti-incineration campaigners and the company itself.

Planning permission to increase the capacity of the s100m incinerator by one-third, which would allow the burning of 200,000 tonnes of waste at the plant each year, was granted by Meath County Council, subject to 32 planning conditions last August.

Appeals against that decision have been lodged by the No Incineration Alliance, Carranstown Residents Group, Drogheda Chamber of Commerce and Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd.

Indaver Ireland, the company behind the proposed incinerator, has also lodged an appeal, which is believed to be against some of the planning conditions.

An Bord Pleanála has discretion on whether or not to hold an oral hearing. The original application for the smaller facility had been the subject of an oral hearing, which took place in Drogheda in 2002,

Pat O’Brien of the No Incineration Alliance has urged those opposed to the incineration to make observations on the appeals before the deadline of 16th October.

Pointing out that the original Indaver application for an incinerator had attracted hundreds of objections, he said that getting involved in the planning process was expensive but those opposed to the Duleek incinerator could make observations on the appeals for just s50.

When planning permission for the expanded facility was granted by the council in August, Indaver Ireland, the company behind the project, had said it was not financially viable to build it unless restrictions were placed on landfill in Ireland.

While Indaver said it was committed to building the plant, the company admitted there was “uncertainty over the timing” of the controversial project.

The No Incineration Aliance said that the proposal to build an incinerator on top of a major supply of high-quality drinking water was crazy and the decision flew in the face of EU directives and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines which “prohibit the building of large industrial units such as this anywhere near, let alone on top of, such a valuable resource.”

They claimed that the proposed incinerator would no longer be a regional incinerator, but a national or even international one.