A peat extraction company has told the High Court its business faces closure if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gets injunctions aimed at halting the firm's wet peat extraction activities in the midlands.
Harte Peat says 50 jobs depend on its business continuing and the injunctions would also seriously impact on the mushroom industry here as the firm provides much of the wet peat used for mushroom casings.
The EPA wants the injunctions pending a full hearing of issues between the sides.
It says the matter is urgent because it learned in September 2018 the company was engaged in extraction of wet peat up to five metres deep at an unlicensed site at Derrycrave in Co Westmeath.
The EPA’s concern is the depth at which the extraction is occurring.
It claims a 2012 water discharge licence application by the company related to the activity only covered a depth of two metres.
The EPA contends the activity is “highly damaging to the environment” and is causing “irreparable damage to the raised bog”.
The site also has potential to impact Lough Derravaragh, a protected area for the wide range of bird species that use the lake throughout the year, Ms Hyland said.
Peat harvesting companies are required to obtain an Integrated Pollution Prevention Control licence where peat extraction is carried out in an area of land exceeding 50 hectares.
The Derrycrave site is one of several on which the EPA argues Harte Peat is carrying out unregulated peat harvesting activities above the 50ha threshold.
The firm argues the areas where it is harvesting peat are individually less than 50 hectares and, as such, it does not require a license.
On Wednesday, Harte’s counsel Michael McDowell SC told Mr Justice Charles Meenan the firm has been engaged in wet peat extraction activity, using diggers, 50 weeks a year for two decades and there was nothing “secret” about it.
The EPA had “constructively” known of the activity for six years and no new “game changer” has arisen to justify the court making the orders sought which would close his client’s business, he said.
Earlier, when moving the injunctions application, Niamh Hyland SC, for the EPA, said it was initiated following the discovery in September 2018 Harte Peat is extracting wet peat on 11 hectares up to a depth of five metres at the Derrycrave site.
The EPA claims Harte Peat is not entitled to carry out such activity on the site without IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) and water discharge licenses and planning permission and says the company has none of those.
On Wednesday, Mr McDowell said Harte disputes it is required to have planning permission. He also said the EPA had intervened to stop Harte receiving the licences at issue.
Harte also disputed its activities might impact of Lough Derravaragh, he said.
He urged the judge to refuse the injunctions and said the focus should instead be on procuring an early trial of the full case when the disputes concerning the relevant legislation would be determined.
The suggestion this form of extraction must stop now “because the bogs must be saved at all costs” comes with some difficulty from an agency that knows this has been going on for some six years, he said.
While not criticising an EPA inspector who had said he only learned of the activity in the past two months, Harte Peat should not be visited with that inspector’s unawareness, he said.
The case will conclude on Thursday after Ms Hyland makes replying arguments. Judgment on the application is expected to be reserved.
