Clare County Council yesterday discounted the unlicensed pumping of untreated sewage into the Shannon estuary from Shannon Airport as the cause of a smell that has afflicted the area over the past two months.
The smell was first detected in Shannon on November 14th last. To date, despite extensive investigations, its source has not been identified.
However, this week an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report revealed that Aer Rianta discharges 100,000 cubic metres of raw sewage into the estuary each year from the airport's new €35 million terminal.
The discharge takes place a short distance from Shannon town and is continuing in the absence of proper treatment works. It is also in contravention of planning permission secured by Aer Rianta for its terminal in 1998, which required the company to provide proper sewage treatment facilities for the development.
The pumping of untreated sewage from the airport into the estuary began when the airport was established in the mid-1940s. An Taisce's heritage officer, Mr Ian Lumley, described the EPA report as devastating and accused Aer Rianta of operating Third World environmental standards.
In response to the report - which was drafted following a complaint from An Taisce - the county council requested that Aer Rianta put in place proper sewage treatment works. Aer Rianta is to seek planning permission for a €2.25 million sewage treatment works, to become operational before the end of 2004.
Yesterday, however, the council's environment director, Mr David Timlin, discounted any connection between the sewage and the smell.
"Council officials have investigated the Aer Rianta site where the discharge takes place and we are satisfied that it is not related to the smell," he said. Investigations had been stepped up, and an inter-agency working group had been established, he added.
EPA officials and the Mid-Western Health Board are taking part in the working group. Mr Timlin said: "Progress is being made in that we have eliminated a number of potential sources, including construction projects in the area."
Already the smell has spread as far as Limerick, Ennis and other parts of Co Clare.
