An Taisce is lodging a complaint with the European Commission over "suspect" ministerial consents issued for the Corrib gas pipeline.
The formal complaint arises from a report for An Taisce by former Bord Gáis engineering manager Leo Corcoran, who says the consents do not oblige the developer by law to comply with a pipeline code of practice and are in breach of EU directives.
This is a "unique" and "serious" omission, he says, given that it involves a high pressure gas pipeline.
The recent Advantica safety review had identified this, and Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey proposed that the developer resubmit a new application for approval, Mr Corcoran notes.
"This is clearly an attempt to overcome the dubious consents issued to date, and to shift the focus of attention away from the department and on to the developer," he says.
Mr Corcoran's report, which is due to be published on An Taisce's website today, says the omission can be traced back to a review of the pipeline's design codes and standards, commissioned by former marine minister Frank Fahey.
The study by consultant Andrew Johnston did not specify compliance with a code of practice.
Similarly, the foreshore licence for the offshore licence made no such stipulation.
Mr Corcoran, who was senior engineer on the Cork-Dublin gas pipeline, says the developer of a high pressure pipeline has always been obliged by law in Ireland and Britain to comply with a code of practice under a letter of consent.
It is insufficient for the Corrib gas developer to claim that the pipeline complies with a code, BS 8010, when this was not specified by the Minister, he says.
This failure could "allow the developer to legally operate the facility in breach of the code," he says, and the Government could be found to be in breach of EU directive 98/30 and its replacement 2003/55, covering authorisations for building and operating natural gas facilities.
Mr Corcoran also says the chosen site for the onshore gas terminal at Bellanaboy is "totally unsuitable", given its location within the catchment area for a major water supply at Carrowmore lake and because ground conditions are unsuitable.
Its location inland means that there is "no suitable route for a connecting pipeline that meets acceptable environmental and safety criteria," he says.
He argues that it should be in a coastal, rather than offshore, location.
