Waterford County Council has been prevented by the High Court from immediately resuming its efforts to locate a "super dump" in the west of the county.
With an existing landfill facing closure following a decision of the EPA and the attempt to find another site suspended pending the outcome of a court case, the council could be facing a waste management crisis.
Last Friday the county manager, Mr Donal Connolly, was refused permission by the High Court to withdraw from an undertaking given last February. He had undertaken not to apply for a waste licence for a site at Garrynagree, Dungarvan, until the outcome of legal proceedings brought by a local resident had been determined.
Mr Connolly submitted that the EPA's proposed refusal of a licence for an existing landfill at Dungarvan constituted a "material change in circumstances" since the undertaking was given, but this was rejected by the court.
The pressure on the council and Waterford Corporation to find a landfill site capable of catering for the needs of both city and county is growing.
The three existing landfills - the city site at Kilbarry and the county dumps at Tramore and Dungarvan - are nearing the end of their lifespans, but the protracted search to find a single site capable of replacing all three has been unsuccessful to date.
Consultants employed by the two authorities initially ruled out all areas west of Dungarvan in the search for a site, given that 80 per cent of the population resides in the east of the county or in Waterford city. The EU's proximity principle requires that waste be disposed of as close as possible to where it is produced.
However, potential sites selected in the east were strongly opposed by local residents and eventually abandoned on technical grounds. Council officials said they were left with no alternative but to turn to the west of the county and the site at Garrynagree was identified last year as potentially the most suitable.
Ann Hogan, a local resident and member of the Lickey Concern Group, which opposes the siting of a dump at Garrynagree, challenged the selection process in the High Court. The case was heard in May and judgement was reserved.
The situation became more urgent last month when the EPA served notice of a proposed decision to refuse the county council permission to continue disposing of waste at its Dungarvan landfill. The council has appealed.
It was this move by the EPA which prompted Mr Connolly to return to the High Court on Friday to seek permission to withdraw from his undertaking last February not to apply for an EPA waste licence for the site at Garrynagree. Mr Justice Herbert, however, said the application was "ill-founded, not proven and based on a false premise".
A decision on the case taken by Ms Hogan is expected shortly. A spokesman said Waterford Council was "concerned about the urgency of the matter" and was awaiting the court's decision.
